
CARBTXNG THE SABBATH. 




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Entered at Stationer's Hall , 
Copyright 1904, by F. Joseph Spencer. 



Preface 

The Sabbath question is the question of the agee— past, present 
and future. The Sabbath is coeval with the civilization of the hu- 
man race and will last as long as that civilization exists. The Sab- 
bath came in with the civilization of man, and it will go out when 
man ceases to claim the title of being a MAN. "The Sabbath was 
made for man and not man for the Sabbath." It effects the Jew 
and Gentile alike; and wherever civilization has made any conquest 
man is (or ought to be) found in full enjoyment of this priceless 
blessing, i. e M rest from toil on the seventh day of the week, thus 
pre-figuring the rest of the eternal Sabbath for the people of God. 

In my childhood I was brought up to attend the Sunday-school 
of the Church of England and was taught the Catechism, and be- 
came a Teacher, Temperance advocate, Lecturer, &c. I was always 
taught to believe in the Ten Commandments, and heartily joined in 
the response after the Fourth Commandment was read, "Lord, in- 
cline our hearts to keep this law." 

The first book I read upon this subject was The Hist, of the Sab- 
bath by Rev. John T. Bay lee (Clerical Secretary to The Lord's Day 
Observance Society, London, 1867). This writer said that Sunday 
was the first day, and that the day had been changed by the apos- 
tles. However, I could not reconcile this statement with my Cat- 
echism, or with the Ten Commandments of the Prayer Book. I 
searched up the different Sabbatarian Societies that were established 
to protect the Sabbath from the secular tendencies of the age and 
found to my astonishment that they all took the same view as Her. 
J. T. Baylee, i. e., The Sabbath Observance Society of Scotland, The 
Working- Men's Lord's Day Rest Association, The Sunday Rest So- 
ciety, Ice, Jcc. 

I received a tract written by the Rev. W. M. Jones, pastor of the 
Seventh-Day Baptist Church (Feb. 20th, 1879) and immediately put 
myself in eommunication with the author. But the literature I re- 
ceived from him did not settle the question in favor of the Satur- 
day-Sabbath. All the Biblical encyclopedias stated that our Sab- 
bath was the first day, and all eur Sabbath literature simply re- 
echoed the same sentiments. I ©btained a pass to enter the Library 
of the Bri ish Museum to settle the point in dispute for myself, for 
I could not believe that the compilers ef our Catechism could be 
guilty of practicing such a pious fraud, i. e., that we were to keep 
Sunday the seventh day, in obedience to the command of God. 



I left England for British Columbia in April, 1888, where I met 
the Seventh-Day Adventr&ta and obtained Andrew's History of the 
Sabbath. I left Victoria for San Francisco and found the Advent- 
ists very strong in Oakland. They were in conference, which lasted 
for several days. I wrote the following letter to the local press: 
"CHALLENGE FOR ELDER JONES.— declaration that the 

ADVENTISTS WORSHIP ON THE WRONG DAY OP THE WEEK. 

Editor Tribune: There is a widespread belief that Sunday is the 
first day of the week. The Seventh- Day Adventists would have us 
change our day of rest and keep Saturday instead of Sunday. 

When I was a reader in the British Museum I read everything 
that would throw any light on the subject of the order of the days 
of the week. As a result of my researches I found abundant proof 
that Sunday is the seventh day, the identical Sabbath of Christ and 
his apostles. 

A few years ago when in Victoria, British Columbia, the good 
Catholic Bishop Lemens allowed me the use of the Palace Library, 
where I found two editions of the Fathers, and my researches there 
Vad me to the same result. I came to San Francisco in 1894, and 
since that date I have searched the libraries there. Mr. Sutro, 
when Mayor of the city, granted me the use of his library, but since 
his decease the library has been closed against me and everybody 
else. The result of my researches in Mr. Sutro's library was the 
lame as that secured elsewhere. Since Mr. Sutro's death I have 
made use of the public libraries here. The San Francisco law library 
stands as a class library at the head of the list; and there I found 
all the ancient Roman laws relating to Sunday, Sabbath and Lord's 
in Corpus Juris Romani Ante Justiniani, the words, Sabbath, Sun- 
day and Lord's day being used interchangeably. 

In the text-book, Andrew's History of the Sabbath, of the Sev- 
enth-Day Adventists, where the author has correctly cited an orig- 
inal writer and dates, Sunday is the seventh day in every case. 

The Jews kept Sunday as the Seventh day and called it the Sab- 
bath down to the thirteenth century. Their present custom of 
keeping Saturday is but a modern innovation, as the voice of history 
fully proves. 

If the Seventh-Day Adventists would like this question fully ex- 
amined, I shall be pleased to meet Mr. Jones, the president of the 
Seventh-Day Adventist Association, in public discussion. Awaiting 
a reply, I am, very truly yours, F. Joseph Spencer. 

Old Couctv Road, Fruitvale. near San Francisco, Cal. 

P. S. — Will th« Religious Press please copy?" 

Tribune. Oakland Cal. U.S t A. June 12£h> 190L 

No reply was ever received to this challenge. However, I ad- 
dressed the ministers of the different denominations i. e., the Con- 
gregational Ministerial Club, Aug. 27, 1901; the Pre* by terian Union, 
March 11, 1902; the Methodist Preachers' Meeting, April 7, 1902; 
the Baptist Ministerial Union, May 25, 1903, of San Francisco. 



Table of Contents 

CHAPTER I . page 

Was ti_e:e a Rest-d^y in Eien? 1-15 

CHAPTER II 
The Sabbath in the pre-Noahic Age 15-22 

CHAPTER III 
The Sabbath— Its Etymology and Sanctity 22-39 

CHAPTER IV 
The Tvto Decalogues — The Discrepancy — Which is True? 
— Atheistical Objections — Christian Apologists— Tne 
Mystery Solved 39-69 

CHAPTER V 
The Week— Its Origin 69 90 

CHAPTER VI 

Tne Sabbath the Perpetual Sign of the Corenant 90-102 

CHAPTER VII 
Christ the Sabbe.th Reformer 102-110 

CHAPTER VIII 
Are the Commandments Abolished? 110-215 

CHAPTER IX 
Sun, or Ancestral Worship 215-459 

CHAPTER I 
Saturday Not the Seventh-day Sabbath 460-500 

CHAPTER XI 
Sunday Both First and Seventh Day 500-593 

CHAPTER XII 
Sunday the Seventh Day 593- 100 fi 

CHAPTER XIII 

How the Jews, Serenth-day Baptists, and Seventh-day 
Adventists Came to Observe the Sixth Day as Their 
Sabbath 1007-1075 

Index of Su-biects.. lo:6 



List of Illustrations 

page 

Worship of Sun-god, at Sippara, Babylon. B. C. 900 32 

Carrying the Sabbath 36 
Handing down the birthright Bleeping 7 * 

The Eberite Sanctuary as Abram left it. The Ancestral godi 

or male images and earrings buried under the oak 224 

Waiting for the Shadow 393 

Isis and the multitudinous blessing (four figures) 402 
Stonehenge Restored 

The Coronation Chair and St. Peter's Chair 422 

The Phallic Stone on Tarah Hill as we saw it in 1875 429 

The double headed Venus 434 

The Assyrian Tree of Life 443 

Cock Crowing 458 

The Bronze Barque with seven heads representing the planets 462 

Bronze Antique, an instrument of punishment 464 

Assyrian group &>0 

Lunar Runic Calander, from the Isle of Osel 907 

Runic Primstaff 912 

Edges of Primstaff and the first 7 letters of Runic Alphabet 913 

Oval Calander 916 

Sankt Pader's Lek 9J8 

Doctor Plot's Clog Almanac, 919 

Ancient Sand stone Almanac found in Great Britain. 925 

The Crucifixion 932 

Supposed mock representation of the Crucifix 933 
Sacophagus in the Lateran Museum 936 

Christ standing on the Mount of Glory 93 $ 

The idols of the Sun and Moon 944 

The idols of Tuisco, Woden, Thor 945 

The idols of Friga and Seater 946 

The seven gods from which the days of the week are named 949 
Idols of Wooden, Thor and Frigga 950 

The seven gods in the ancient Sun Sanctuary 951 

Our Numerals and other curious Memorials of Antiquity 954 

Constantine's Luminous Cross and St. Anthony's Encounter 959 
Christ blessing the Sabbath Day 987 

The Giant's Dance or Stonehenge. Wiltshire, England 989 

John James on his way to Tyburn 1061 



CHAPTER I. 

WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 

The first mention we have of a day of rest iD the sacred page of 
Holy Writ is to be found in Genesis ii. 2, " And on the seventh day 
God ended his work which he had made : and he rested (yisboth — t&fi) 
on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." (In the 
Samaritan copy of the Hebrew text and in the Syriac Version and 
the Septuagint it reads, M And on the sixth day God ended hii 
work.") 

The first mention we have of the word Sabbath as a verb is in 
Genesis ii. 3, " And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it : 
because that in it he had rested (Shavath — n^ar) from all his work 
which God created and made " ; and as a noun in Ex. xvi. 26 — 
(SJiabbath—nz?). 

If this record be accepted as true, it would prove that there was a 
sanctified rest day in Eden, and that day a Sabbath ; for it was 
because God rested upon this day that the Israelites were com- 
manded to rest (vide Fourth Commandment). If, however, the 
truthfulness of this record be called into question, and the creative 
week of Genesis conclusively proved to be at variance with true 
science, then there was no sanctified rest day in Eden. And in that 
case the Exodus Code of the Ten Commandments are but of human 
origin, and not Divine ; for the Sabbath of the Fourth Command- 
ment entirely rests upon the assumption that the Biblical account of 
the creation is historically true, viz., M For in six days the Lord 
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested 
the seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath [hashsha- 
batli) day, and hallowed it.' 

In this age of scientific research — this age of reason — men are led 
by science; and if there should appear any discrepancy between 
revelation and science, revelation must be wrong and science right. 

B 



2 WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN i 

Not only is the creative week sacrificed upon the altar of an embryo 
science, but the Tables of Stone upon which God wrote with His 
own fingers those commands which will and shall govern the human 
race. "When and where will these sacrifices end ? It is as clear ae 
noon- day that they cannot end until these scientific Vandals have 
searched the four corners of the earth, and have sacrificed every 
vestige of revelation. 

Sacrifice the Sabbath and you sacrifice the Lord of the Sabbath; 
for if there be no Sabbath, then there is no God. The two have 
come down to us from the same source, viz., revelation ; reject this, 
and where is the evidence of the other ? Natural philosophy could 
not supply that evidence. Impossible ! But let us assume that it 
did, it would be worthless unless at the same time it clothed that 
Deity with the attributes of holiness and love. God could not 
reveal Himself, clothed with those attributes which revelation has 
ascribed to Him, through the vehicle of natural religion ; hence the 
necessity for revelation. And as far as modern science has correctly 
translated the natural religion, we can as yet find nothing in this 
translation that would lead us to infer that it was in collusion with 
revelation, or that revealed truth was a pious fraud. While, how- 
ever, we hold these views, there are those who think otherwise, whose 
wish it is to destroy our Sabbatic institution, and among that number 
we find the greatest intellects of the past and present that the world 
has ever seen. The objections against a Sabbath in Eden may be 
classed under the following heads: — 

1st. Geology disproves the Sabbatic rest in Eden. 

2nd. The analogy between the seventh day and the preceding six 
days disproves the Sabbatic rest in Eden. 

3rd. We have no precept to observe the Sabbath in Eden. 

4th. That the mention of the rest in Eden w T as by anticipation. 

We will notice these objections in order, and at the same time 
we will quote from authorities that have put their arguments 
in the strongest light. 

1. — Geology disproves the Sabbatic Best in Eden. 

On this question Mr. Robert Cox, F.S.A., Scotland, a voluminous 
writer upon the Sabbath question, and whose works are accepted as 
the text books by the advocates of the Sunday Society, writes as 
follows (" Sabbath Laws," p. 72) :— 

" Down to the present century it was almost universally believed 
by Christians that the material universe was created and fashioned 



WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 



into its present condition by the Deity in the space of six days, and 
that on the seventh He rested from His work, these facts being 
in their apprehension distinctly affirmed in the 1st chapter of 
Genesis and in the Fourth Commandment. But the discovery has 
lately been made that such a belief is utterly at variance with 
demonstrable facts; and all fit judge-, whether lay or clerical, who 
have studied the question under the light of modern science, have 
been compelled to confess, though sometimes with great reluctance, 
that the tenet can no longer be maintained. The doctrine in question 
has, therefore, now descended irretrievably from the rank of reputed 
God's truth to that of an exploded man's truth ; and, of course, 
whatever consequences were deduced from the Hebrew cosmogony 
when supposed to be true* must now as such consequences be aban- 
doned. So that, whatever duty of Sabbath observance is incumbent 
upon men, must henceforth be defended upon other ground than 
those which the Jewish narrative of the creation has hitherto 
supplied. 

" By competent judges everyone of the ingenious attempts which, 
have been made to reconcile the Jewish narrative with astronomy 
and geology is pronounced to be a deplorable failure; and it would 
have been strange had the fact been otherwise, in a case where the 
recognised principles of biblical interpretation have been so com- 
pletely set at nought, and where the scientific knowledge of the 
reconcilers has usually been so inadequate to the task. 

"Professor Hitchcock, 'Religion of Geology,' p. 440, one of the 
most respectable and well-informed of the writers alluded to, ex- 
presses the opinion that ' Revelation is illustrated, not opposed, by 
geology. Who thinks at this day of any discrepancy between 
astronomy and revelation, and yet two hundred years ago the 
evidence of such discrepancy was far more striking than any which 
can now be offered to show geology at variance with the Scriptures 
. . . Rightly understood, and fairly interpreted, there is not a single 
scientific truth that does not harmoniously accord with revealed as 
well as natural religion, and yet by superficial minds almost every- 
one of these principles has, at one time or another, been regarded as 
in collision with religion, and especially with revelalion. One after 
another of these discrepancies melted away before the clearer light 
of further examination ; and yet, up to the present day, not a few, 
closing their eyes against the lessons of experience, still fancy that 
the responses of science are not in unison with those from revelation.' 

This is a fair sample of the assertions made upon the subject ; 
but if the 1st chapter of Genesis be, as orthodox believers regard it, 
a history to be interpreted as other histories are, I am at a loss to 
understand wherein the ' superficial min is ' have erred, either now, 
or in the times of Copernicus and Galileo, in doing that for which 
Professor Hitchcock condemns them. For if the Elebrew narrative 
of the cosmogony be not a mere apologce, as some of the Jewish 
writers and primitive fathers understood it (but as the Church of 
England and Scotland do not understand it), it plainly teaches what 

B 2 



BT DAI : 



Theodore Parker says it does, 

tars, and earth, end gate the lath r it- plants animals, | 
\ I KeOOfl pn>v« s that many thousand*, if 

million^ of jrmn moot have pawned between I of the fl 

plant* ami man, the crown of creation; that foe of the 

to gradually received its | form; one race of plants af 

..th< r iprnngnp; animal* succeeded animals, the ttmnler first, 
then the more OOmplez ; end at bet man. This chapter tells of an 
ocean of water above our heads, separated from us by a solid I 
ponsc, in which the greater and learnt lightl II that there 

aning and morning ii a sun to cause the 

differeu sen day and night; that the inn end stars w< 

created after the earth for the earth*i oonvenienoe; and t 

leased B •'», find rested upon tk tfa day. Here the Bible 

|| at farianoe with science, which is nature stated in • age. 

nun will say directly wliat the Bohoolmen said to Galileo, " It 

r, If opposed to the Bible, then nature is mistaken, for the 

Bibi rtainlj right." Bat the popular riew of the Bible 

logically makes the assertion, Truth and the Book of G ui- 

no4 be reOOncUed except on the hypothesis that the Bible means 
anything it can be made to mean ; but then it means nothing.' " 

From this extract Mr. Robert Cox demonstrably proves to his own 
faction that modern science is at variance with revelation, and 
that the Sabbath institution, which derives its authority from that 
rei elation, falls to the ground. We ask, M Does Mr. Cox prove that 
nee and geology are opposed to each other?" Certainly not. 
What Mr. Robert Cox has demonstrably proved is, that his views 
and those of Theodore Parker, with reference to the creation are 
wrong. Let us examine his argument 

ice proves that many thousands, if not millions, of years 
must have passed between the creation of the first plants and man, 
the crown of creation." Is revelation opposed to this? Certainly 
I gratuitous assumption to suppose that the creative day 
was a natural day of twenty-four hours. There is not an atom »f 
evidence in Genesis that would lead us to infer this, but just the 
i. verse. The duration of the creative day must be measured by the 
creative work done in that day. The time consumed we know not, 
for both science and revelation are silent upon the point, and there- 
D€ at variance. But then we are told "that there was 
ding and morning before there was a sun to cause the difference 
. night and day," and that "this is opposed to true science 
and common We emphatically deny that the sun had any- 

thing to do with causing or governing the evening ai d .noming of 
the creative days. 



WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 



If the creative day was governed by the sun, how is it we have it 
distinctly stated that the evening and morning was the first day, the 
evening and morning was the second day, the evening and morning 
was the third day, &c. The natural length of the day that is governed 
by the sun is from evening to evening, and not from evening to morn- 
ing ; and if we attempt to identify these creative days with the day 
of the week, then those days would be days commencing with even- 
ing and ending with morning. In that case we should have space 
of time between each day, and not belonging to or reckoned, 
viz., the time from morning to evening. The fact of the creative 
day beginning with the evening and ending with the morning con- 
clusively proves that the creative day cannot be identified with the 
natural day that is caused by the sun. 

The writer of the narrative has used the word " day " very indefi- 
nitely. We find him using it to define the period of light in con- 
tradistinction to night, Gen. i. 5. (In this verse the writer has used 
the word twice, and in both instances it is evident that he does not 
refer to the natural day.) Then it is used to include both day and 
night, Gen. iii. 17; and also pressed into service to define those six 
creative periods in which the world was created, Gen. i. 5 ; and in 
its most comprehensive sense includes all those creative periods — 
'* in the day that the Lord God created the heaven and the earth," 
Gen. ii. 4. 

Again, if we accept the theory of Mr. Robert Cox, we must 
assume that God did His creative work at night but slept all day. 
Again, the sun not appearing until the fourth day, could not in any 
way govern the length of the first three days of creation ; and that 
it did not govern the length of the other days is clear, for each 
creative day begins with the evening and ends with the morning. 

It may be asked, why should the creative day be so defined as to 
commence with evening and end with morning ; for if the day be 
creative periods, then there would be no necessity to so define it ? 
To answer that we must endeavour to discover the idea that the 
writer intended to convey when he pressed those words into service. 
That he did not mean to convey the idea that the evening and morn- 
ing should be understood as the evening and morning of the natural 
day is clear. What did he intend to convey by the word evening? 
We are not left in any doubt upon this, for we find that in the same 
narrative the word eve is used by the writer as we use it to this very 
•lay, as meaning the beginning— the eve of a great battle, the begin- 
ning of a great battle, the eve of a great crisis — the beginning of a 



\VAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 



great crisis. Thus we find that when God had created our first 
parents, He called their name Adam, Gen. v. 2. Adam, however, gave 
his wife a name, and called her " Eve, because she was the mother of 
all living-." Her name previous to the Fall was simply woman — 
womb-man, i.e., a man with a womb ; " therefore shall a man leave 
his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one 
flesh," Gen. ii. 24. Here we have the true meaning of the word 
" eve." The evening of the creative day simply means the " begin- 
ning "of the creative day, just as Eve was so named because she 
was the mother (or gave birth to) the human race. That this is the 
true meaning there can be no doubt, because the day upon which 
God rested is not so defined as commencing with the evening and 
ending with the morning, the obvious reason being that the seventh 
day was a Sabbath, and was observed as such. 

Having shown that the word evening must be understood as 
meaning " beginning," we now pass on to the word " morning." 
For the true meaning of this word we admit that the writer of the 
narrative does not enlighten us, for the reason that he nowhere 
else mentions it ; therefore for a solution we must turn away 
from the narrative, and seek for its meaning in contemporary 
writings, and the only writing that has come down to us from that 
time is the Book of Job. In the 38th chapter, verse 4, we read, 
" Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ? 
declare it, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures 
thereof, if thou knowest ? or who hath stretched the line upon it ? 
W hereupon are the foundations thereof fastened ? or who laid the 
corner stone thereof ; When the morning stars sang together, and 
all the sons of God shouted for joy ? " There can be very little 
doubt that the whole of this chapter has reference to the building 
of the great pyramid by the Sethites and the sons of God (these 
latter had been driven out of the garden), for verse 21 clearly inti- 
mates that Job was then living : " Knowest thou it, because thou 
wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?" 
The moment the head or top stone had been placed upon that monu- 
ment, it was then the morning stars (Sethites) sang together, and 
the "sons of God" shouted for joy. The work was finished. 

2. — The Analogy between the Sabbath Day and the preceding six 
disproves the Sabbatic Best. 

r Mr. Cox introduces the following argument to support this view: 



WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 



" If the six days of creation were not literal days, but periods, 
then by the same canon of analogy the seventh day ought to be a 
period of rest, and not a literal seventh day rest ; and in this case 
the seventh day Sabbath is only binding upon those who believe 
that the creative days are literal days, and not binding upon the 
geologist who believes that the days were periods." 

I deny that there is any analogy between the six creative periods 
and the seventh day rest. They are not analagous ; the one is just 
the opposite to the other; the second is analagous to the first 
because they are both creative periods, but not so with the seventh, 
for the reason it is not like the preceding six creative periods, but 
just the reverse; therefore there can be no analogy. To insist upon 
the sanctified rest day as being of the same duration as the pre- 
ceding work days is to insist that because a cathedral has been six 
years in building, the consecration service ought to last one year. 
The creative days commenced with the evening and ended with the 
morning, but it is not so with the seventh day rest ; therefore there 
can be no analogy, since there is no measurement of time given for 
the seventh day rest. 

3. — We have no precept to observe the Sabbath in Eden. 

This argument is urged with some force by Milton (" Treaties on 
Christian Doctrine," pp. 605-6.) 

" It is urged, first, that G-od rested upon the seventh day. This 
is true, and with reason, inasmuch as He had finished a great work — 
the creation of heaven and earth. If, then, we are bound to 
imitate Him in rest without any command to that effect, we are 
equally bound to imitate His work according to the fable of Pro- 
methus of old, for rest implies previous labour. They enjoin that 
God hallowed that day ; doubtless He hallowed it as touching Him- 
self, for on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed, Ex. xxxi. 17, 
but not as touching us, unless He had added an express command- 
ment to that effect ; for it is by the precept, and not by example 
even of God Himself, that we are bound." 

Let us accept this argument of Milton, and apply it to the follow- 
ing passages where we are instructed and taught by Example and not 
by precept : — 

Jesus Christ, in His defence to the Jews, says (John v. 17), " My 
Father worketh hitherto, and I work." — John Milton replies, " We 
cannot admit your argument, Lord ; for it is by precept, and not by 
example even of God Himself, that we are bound." 

Jesus says (Matt. v. 48;, " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
Father which is in heaven is perfect." — Milton replies, " It is by 



8 WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN ? 

precept, Lord, and not by example even of God Himself, that we are 
bound." 

Jesus says (John xiii. 15), " I have given you an example, that ye 
should do as I have done to you." — Milton replies, " It is by precept, 
Lord, and not by example even of God Himself, that we are 
bound." 

Peter says (1 Pet. ii. 1), " Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an 
example that we should follow his step?." — Milton replies, " It is by 
precept, Peter, and not by example even of God Himself, that we 
are bound." 

Paul says (Rom. xv. 5), " Be like minded after the example of 
Christ.'* — Milton replies, " It is by precept, Paul, and not by example 
even of God Himself, that we are bound." 

We extract the following definition of the word Example from 
Cruden's Concordance : — 

"Example, taken either for a type, instance, or precedent, for 
our admonition, that we may be cautioned against the sins which 
others have committed by the judgments which God inflicts upon 
them (1 Cor. x. 2) ; or Example is taken for a pattern for our 
imitation — a model for us to copy after — ' I have given you an 
example that ye should do as I have done to you' (John xiii. 5); 
and ' Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should 
follow his steps ' (1 Pet. ii. 21). This is one of the means by which 
our Redeemer restores His people to holiness, viz., by exhibiting a 
complete pattern of it in His life upon earth. That example has a 
peculiar power above the naked precept to dispose as to the practice 
of holiness may appear by considering (1), That they most clearly 
express to us the nature of our duties in their subject and sensible 
effects. General precepts form abstract ideas of virtue, but as 
examples virtues are made visible in all their circumstances ; (2), 
Precepts instruct us what things are our duty, but examples assure 

us that they are possible Examples, by a secret and lovely 

incentive, urge us to imitation. The example of Christ is most 
proper to form us to holiness, it being absolutely perfect, and accom- 
modated to our present state. The Divine Nature is the supreme 
rule of moral perfection, for we are commanded to be holy as God 
is holy." 

When our blessed Redeemer introduced His policy of love in 
opposition to the precept of Moses, He fortified His position by 
taking God as His example — hence His hearers were to copy the 
example of God. " Ye hpve heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt 
love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, 
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that 
hate you, and pray for them which despitef ully use you, and perse- 



WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 



cute you ; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in 
heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, 
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust," Matt. v. 43-5. The 
entire argument in the Fourth Commandment is to the same effect. 
You work, for God worked ; you rest, for God rested ; you sanctify 
that rest, for God sanctified that rest ; you make that day holy, for 
God made it holy. 

The striking inconsistency of those gentlemen who champion this 
argument of Milton may be seen in their writings, for although they 
will not admit that they are bound by the example of God Himself, 
yet they one and all submit to be bound by the example of the early 
Fathers and the Apostles, who met upon the first day of the week. 
They tell us that there is no precept to keep the first day of the 
week, and yet they kept it, because, say they, the Fathers of the 
Church kept it. 

4. — That the mention of the Rest in Eden was by Anticipation. 

The writers who support this view are chiefly the Rabbins in their 
Talmudical and Rabbinical writings, and endorsed by nearly all the 
early Fathers, and some of the most learned of later date — Heylin, 
Archdeacon Paley, Dr. Whateley (Archbishop of Dublin), and others. 
Alphonso Tostatus, Bishop of Avila, in Spain, in the fifteenth 
century, supports this view as follows (" Alphons. Tostatus Abulen- 
sis Episcop. commentarum in Genesim ") : — 

" It was not necessary to give such command as that men should 
abstain from labour and direct their attention to the contemplation 
of Divine things on those Sabbath days owing to their not being 
able to do it on working days, because in the first ages there was as 
it were continual repose. They had little or no labour, for they 
used simple food and clothing, for which daily toil is so necessary, 
and because Nature supplied what they required for sustenance. 
Nor is the saying " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread " 
opposed to this view, because this applies rather to their posterity 
than to the first men ; nor even, if it be said that " Cain was a tiller 
of the ground," because this was rather with a view to exercise than 
from necessity : and of this opinion are all the doctors and most 
ancient writers, for thus speaks Ovid of this early age : — 

M Devoid of care, exempt from toil, 

In peaceful ease their years flow'd by ; 
For tho' untill'd, the kindly soil 
Yielded for each a rich supply." 

These men, therefore, enjoying such constant rest, were able to con- 



10 WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 



template God, nor neeced they any special day for the purpose. 
But afterwards the earth, thrown into a s ate of confusion by the 
flood, with difficulty yielded a sufficiency of food to great and con- 
stant labours ; when, therefore, daily assemblies could not be held, 
it was right that one day should be appointed for the purpose; 
likewise, because if this command had been given from the 
beginning, all men naturally would be under obligation to obey it, as 
in that case it would not be given specially to any one people, but to 
all, like moral precepts, which are the dictates of the law of nature; 
since, therefore, other nations would not have kept this precept, 
they would have been guilty of mortal sin. But that they have 
been guilty is not true, because all the Gentiles who existed before 
the preaching of the Gospel were saved, provided they observed 
the precepts of the law of nature, viz., to love the true God more 
than themselves, and not to injure their neighbour, in which the 
whole Decalogue is included ; and on this ground many place among 
the saved Socrates, Plato, and others, who, nevertheless, kept no 
Sabbath." 

It will be seen that the position taken up by this class of writers 
is, that although the Sabbath was given in Eden, yet it was given in 
anticipation, and that the Sabbath was not actually set apart until 
it was given to Moses, and for 2,500 years, i.e., from the Creation 
until the time of Moses, the Sabbath was not known. To support 
the theory of anticipation several texts are pressed into service. In 
Gen. xxxi. 21 we read that Jacob, in his flight from Laban, " set his 
face towards the Mount Gilead," and in the 47th verse of the same 
chapter it states that the mountain was not so called until Laban 
had overtaken Jacob, and made a covenant there, Laban calling the 
place Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. In Judges ii. 1 
we read that the " angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim,' 
and in the 5th verse we are informed that the place was called 
Bochim in consequence of the weeping that took place there on 
that occasion. Now, to assume that these verses prove the anticipa- 
tory argument, is to assume that narratives were written before the 
time of which they record, that is to say, that Jacob must have 
written the one previous to his flight from Laban, and that the other 
was written by the Angel of the Lord before he came up from Gilgal 
If these narratives were written centuries after the events which 
they record, then they were not anticipatory, but a simple record 
of history. And from the very fact that the writer mentioned the 
name Galeed, we may safely infer that that was the name of the 
place when he wrote, and that in the 47th verse he simpiy chronicles 
the fact that it was so named in consequence of the covenant. In 



WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 11 

the other case the Book of the Judges must have been written 
during the reigns of the kings, or we should not have the writer 
recording "that in those dajs theie v,as no king in Israel," Judges 
xviii. 1 ; " and it came to pass in those days when there was no king 
in Israel," Judges xix. 1. But let us assume that these references 
prove that the names of these places were given in anticipation, 
that does not prove that the Sabbath in Eden was given in anticipa- 
tion. That the Sabbath resb was to be in abeyance for 2,500 years 
after it was given there is not a tittle of evidence ; neither can we 
infer that the statement in Gen. li. is anticipatory. 

Archdeacon Paley, in his "Scriptural Account of Sabbatical 
Institutions," chap, vii., admits that " If the Divine command was 
actually delivered at the creation, it was addressed, no doubt, to the 
whole human species alike, and continues, unless repealed by some 
subsequent revelation, binding upon all who come to the knowledge 
of it." " If the divine command wfs given," writes Paley. To my 
mind there is no if about it. The statement is clear and decisive ; 
and if it is to be overthrown, then pei force the laws of God must 
be overthrown, for the Fourth Commandment links fche Sabbatical 
day with the order of cieation. 

Having replied to the objections of an Edenic Sabbath, we now 
pass on to consider 

The Sabbath in Eden, and the purpose why Ood should set it 

apart. 

The universal belief among theologians is that Adam did not long 
enjoy the felicity in the Garden of Eden, and that, he could have had 
no Sabbath in Eden, for the reason that he was not long enough in 
the garden fco enjoy the Sabbatical rest. Now there is not any 
warrant in the narrative in Genesis to lead us to infer such a belief. 
The whole account points to a very long time that our first pare rts 
weie in the garden — it might have been thousands of years before 
sin entered to mar their happiness. Let us take the narrative, 
together with the light that modern research has thrown upon it. 

We are told that God created male and female, and the first com- 
mand He gave them was to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish 
the earth. That they kpt this command there can be no doubt; 
for it was not for disobedience to this command that tbey were 
driven out of the garden. When man had eaten of the forbidden 
fruit by the invitation of the woman, then came the curse, which 
is stated in Gen. hi. 16, " And unto the woman he said, I will 



12 WAS THERE A REST DAT IN EDEN ? 

greatly multiply thy Borrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou 
shalt bring forth children ; and thy desire shall be to thy husband* 
and he shall rule over thee." Does not this language (i.e., in sorrow 
thou shalt bring forth children), clearly prove that conception was 
previously without sorrow, and that to " greatly multiply thy con- 
ception" implies that there was conception before the Fall, and that 
the sorrow experienced by the woman in partaking of the forbidden 
fruit was to be greatly multiplied also ? It could be no punishment 
to the woman to tell her that her sorrow and her conception should 
be greatly multiplied if she had not experienced sorrow and concep- 
tion before ; neither could it have been a great social degradation to 
be ruled over by her husband if he had not hitherto ruled over her ; 
therefore we arrive at no other conclusion than by believing that 
children were born to our first parents long before sin entered into 
the world ; that these recognised God as their Father, hence they 
were His sons (i.e. sons of God) ; that no relationship by affinity 
existed, hence they were naked and were not ashamed ; and when 
the writer informs us that Eve was the mother of all living before 
the birth of Cain, he intended to convey the fact that Eve was the 
mother of those who (like herself) had been driven out of the 
garden. This will explain the difficulty as to where Cain got his 
wife, and also »prove the fallacy of supposing that Cain must have 
married his sister. (Both male and female would be " sons of God " 
when in the garden, just as all those who are in Christ (both male 
and female) become sons of God by adoption. For there is neither 
Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male or female, but all one in Christ 
(i.e., perfect equality, no distinctions.) 

Having evidenced the fact that there was a race of human beings 
in Paradise before the Fall, these acknowledging no earthly father 
but God, it is clear that some time must have elapsed from the 
creation of our first parents to the time of the Fall — what time we 
know not, for both science and revelation are silent upon the point. 
We may safely infer, from the fact of Cain going to the land of 
Nod and marrying a wife, that these sons of God were no incon- 
siderable few ; and also the fact of God placing a mark upon Cain 
in order to preserve his life, seems to support the view that a long 
time must have elapsjd before sm entered Paradise. The age of Adam 
given by the writer of the narrative will not assist us to determine 
what time our first parents lived in their state of purity, for the date 
of his partaking of the forbidden fruit must obviously be taken as the 
time from which to reckon his age, and not the time of his creation. 



WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? I'd 

Having shown that a race of beings existed before the Fall, and 
that they were the sons of God by creation, did these observe a 
seventh day rest ? If so, was it obligatory npon them to observe 
this day as a Sabbath ? 

To the first question we reply that the sons of God did observe 
the seventh day, and that upon that day they sang the " Song of 
Creation," thereby sanctifying that day to the praise and glory of 
God, the song consisting of the whole of the first chapter of 
Genesis and to the 3rd verse of the second chapter. There is a 
transition here, and that which follows is not in any way connected 
with the " Song of Creation " that was sung by the sons of God upon 
the Sabbath. 

When the great creative work wa° done, and Jehovah had pro- 
nounced the words " very good," perfection was to be seen throughout 
the whole realm of nature. There was not one object but that 
conveyed to the mind the words " very good." Man had been 
created in the image of his God, and therefore perfect ; but man 
was something more than this, for God had clothed him with His 
own attributes, and therefore He created him with the attributes of 
holiness ; for " without holiness no man can see the Lord." Now 
the question is, In what way was this idea to be conveyed to the 
mind ? for whatever way it was conveyed, it must be through one of 
the five senses ; for it is the only way the mind can gain a knowledge 
of external things. This being so, what was there in creation that 
could convey or suggest the idea of holiness to the mind of Adam ? 
We answer, Nothing in the whole realm of nature that could possibly 
suggest this idea. The abstract idea of beauty arose from one flower 
being more beautiful than another, hence the idea of beauty. Every 
flower was beautiful, but some more so than others ; thus it was 
by virtue of this contrast, this superlative beauty, that this idea 
was conveyed to the mind. The idea of glory originated in the 
same way. When our first parents viewed the starry heaven, it was 
by virtue of one star being of greater magnitude than another that 
gave rise to the idea of degrees in glory. The apostle presses this 
into service to teach the same lesson. " As one star differeth from 
another in glory." The idea of strength arose by contrast, suggested 
by the lion being stronger than the lamb. One fruit was more 
delicious than another, and it was this contrast that gave the idea 
of tastes, of liking one thing more than another. When Eve was 
presented to Adam, there was something more than mere liking 
called into existence, it was love, the highest earthly attribute that 



14 WAS THERE A REST DAY IN EDEN? 

man possesses. We have seen how primitive ideas originated, and 
how they were called into existence. In what way was the idea of 
holiness called into existence ? Adam was created in the image of 
God, therefore holy ; but how was he to be taught that he was holy, 
that he had this attribute ? One thing is clear, that in his state of 
perfection, and perfection in everything, it was utterly impossible 
for him to extract that idea from nature, for nature did not possess 
it. There was only one way possible, and that was by Jehovah 
making it known, therefore it was a Divine revelation, and the 
revelation appealed to Adam's reason ; for when God had created 
man in His own image, man became a free agent, and although there 
is no evidence to prove that he was created a worshipping animal, 
yet there was that in man which would assimilate him to the object 
of his admiration, and he would, therefore, respond in hymning the 
praises of his great Creator, and as " like begat like," and " thinking 
of heroes makes us heroes," as Lord Beaconsfield used to say, so it 
was in this case ; and the way and only way for Jehovah to convey 
this idea of holiness was by the separating the seventh day from the 
sixth and resting thereon, and sanctifying that rest. That by its 
contrast with + ( he other days, an idea was conveyed to the mind of 
the superlative holiness of this one day over the preceding six, not 
that the six working days were unholy ; no, but that the seventh 
should be marked as the holiest, as it was " His " day, dedicated to Him. 
The way. then, that God communicated this idea was to rest and 
sanctify it Himself, for a command to sanctify the day and keep it 
holy would have been useless unless Adam had known first the mean- 
ing of sanctification and holiness, therefore to instruct Adam as to 
what sanctification and holiness meant, and in order to meet that 
law of assimilation which is in every man, God had to rest, God 
had to sanctify it, God had to keep it holy in order that man 
might rest, might sanctify it, and keep it holy. When our Lord 
and Saviour said " Follow Me," He was but repeating the echo of 
His Father at the creation — " Follow Me," " Follow Me " — and those 
words are ever ringing from Eden's Paradise " Follow Me." But 
what was the object sought? Why, when man received this idea, 
he clothed his Creator with this attribute of holiness ; it conveyed 
to his mind that he himself was holy, and as Sabbath succeeded 
Sabbath he was reminded of the superlative holiness of his great 
Creator, for his mind must have been abstractly engaged in contem- 
plation upon his great Creator, the great Giver of all good ; and the 
effect of all this was man's responses, which found expression in 



THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE. 15 

hymning- the praises of Him who hal bestowed those blessings upon 
him, hence arose " the Song of Creation." Every seventh day he was 
reminded that he himself was holy, and as such he could not eat of 
the forbidden fruit. To him it was a monument ever guarding- 
him. against eating of the forbidden fruit, for then he was specially 
reminded by the Sabbath that he was holy, ana that God was his 
great Creator. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE. 

Having evidenced the fact that the Sabbath was given to our first 
parents in the Garden of Eden, it is a fair subject of inquiry to 
learn if there is any evidence to prove that the Sabbath was observed 
after the Fall. In the narrative, as given in Gen. iv. 3, we read, 
"And in process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the 
fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also 
brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And 
the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." 

\We have here the first mention of the offering of the firstlings of 
the flock and of the fat thereof, and as this is the first act of worship 
{therefore connected with the subject of our inquiry), it is of the 
utmost importance that we should have a correct idea respecting the 
origin and necessity of these offerings. 

Before the Fall there is no evidence of animal sacrifices, the 
obvious reason being that, as the " Song of Creation " was sung 
Sabbath after Sabbath, the fact would be impressed upon those who 
sang that song that God was the great Creator, and as such had 
created all animal and plant life. After the Fall, however, a new 
state of things was brought about ; fallen man began to reason, and 
the result was that the truthfulness of the " Song of Creation " was 
called into question, for all animal and plant life was supposed to be 
its own creator, they judging from appearances (and ignoring first 
causes), the trees bear seed in themselves, and so likewise the animals ; 
hence the idea arose that each species was its own creator, and was 
worshipped as creator God. Now, in order to counteract this evil, it 



16 THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE. 

was absolutely necessary that the true worshippers of God should 
disclaim all sympathy with this growing apostacy. And this dis- 
claimer naturally took the form of offering up the " first fruits" and 
" the firstlings of the flocks " to the Lord, acknowledging thereby 
that God was the Creator of both plant and animal life. When 
Cain, therefore, simply brought the fruit of the ground (and those 
not the first fruits), and Abel the firstlings of his flocks (those 
firstlings which we know became in Egypt the objects of worship, 
and therefore gods), we can quite understand why the " Lord had 
respect unto Abel's offering and not to that of Cain." "If thou 
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, 
sin lieth at the door," Gen. iv. 7. 

Some writers have thought that the " end of days " refers to the 
end of the year, others to the end of the week ; but what time it 
was we may safely infer, that their waiting until the end of days 
before they brought their offerings, that " the end of days " was the 
stated time to bring their offerings, at whic\ stated time they would 
meet the Lord. The writer of the Book of Job throws a little light 
upon this, for in the first chapter we read, 

"There was a man in the land of Huz, whose name was Job; and 
that man was perfect and upright, and one that feard God, and e 
schewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three 
daughters His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three 
thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she 
asses, and a very great household ; so that this man was the greatest 
of all the men of the East. And his sons went and feasted in their 
houses, every one his day ; and sent and called for their three sisters 
to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of 
their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, 
and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings accord- 
ing to the number of them all : for Job said, It may he that my sons 
have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job con- 
tinually (or in the Hebrew 4 all the days '). Now there was a day 
when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, 
and Satan came also among them." And in the first verse of the 
2nd chapter, " Again there was a day when the sons of God came to 
present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also to present 
himself before the Lord." 

It will be seen from this narrative that the sons of God presented 
themselves twice before the Lord. The time that had elapsed 
between the first and second attendance we know not, but in each 
case it must have been at the " end of days," and therefore the day 
that God had arranged to meet them. It must be remembered that 
these sons of God were those who were born in Eden before the 



THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE. 17 



Fall, and the natural inference is that they would still keep up the 
Sabbatic rest; and in order to sanctify that rest, they would of 
necessity have to present themselves before the Lord, and having 
the fact recorded in Gen. ii. 3 that " God blessed the seventh day 
and sanctified it because in it he had Shavath from all his work he 
had created and made " makes it clear that " the end of days," and 
" there was a day," and " again there was a day " would refer to the 
day upon which God Shavath — the day when it was His custom to 
meet them in the appointed place to teach and instruct them, for 
this is what the word Shavath implies ; for after the Fall the sons of 
God became a royal priesthood, and were scattered like the Levites 
among the people, teaching and instructing them into the worship 
of the only true God. To be a " son of God " in Egypt carried with 
it the office of prince and judge. The firstborn son of God was the 
title of the King, for upon the death and deification of Rameses I., 
his firstborn would take the dual title of " Rameses II., Son of God " 
(son of his deified father), and " King of Egypt," while the younger 
male members would be sons of God, and as such have a right in the 
administration of the government ; each one would be placed at the 
head of a particular clan or tribe, and rule over it according to the 
instructions that he would receive when he presented himself with 
the others before the then reigning Pharaoh to receive royal instruc- 
tions respecting the government of the kingdom. Pharaoh on this 
day would Shavath from all his ordinary work ; and as King he would 
stand upon " his lawgiver," i.e., a stone (Beth), and give his speech 
(proclamation) from the throne. 

I admit that it does not necessarily follow that these were seventh 
day Sabbaths ; some might have been annual ; however, they were 
Sabbaths. The seven sons of Job, feasting each one on " his " day, 
would imply that they had fallen into the sin that arose in the 
days of Enos the son of Seth, Gen. iv. 26, " Then began men to 
call themselves by the name of the Lord." (Marginal reading) 
These threw off their allegiance to God, and deified themselves by 
claiming the title of Lord ; hence they were designated " mighty 
men of valour, men of renown." However, the sons of Job could not 
go to this extent while their father lived, unless he himself became a 
party to their apostacy, for the reason that the law of primogeniture 
was established by God Himself, for He said to Cain, " Thou shalt 
rule over him " (Abel), Gen. vi. 7, and this by virtue of being the 
firstborn ; and as a matter of course the father would rule over the 
firstborn as his primogenitor, and the father would be ruled over by 

c 



18 THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE. 



his God as his Creator God. In this arrangement the firstborn is 
made responsible for handing down to his posterity the " Song of 
Creation." In this way the firstborn became the instructor and 
priest of the family. Job, as the head of the family, when he heard 
whaL his sons had done, at once sanctified them, and offered up 
burnt offerings to the number of them all (seven), and this he did 
all the day, i.e., the day that his sons had set apart to offer up praises 
to him " who was the richest man in all the East " as their Lord or 
Creator. So in this way Job declined the honour that his sons 
wanted to confer by making him a creator-god ; and at the same 
time would not in any way countenance " their " days, i.e., the days 
upon which they had set apart to Shavath upon, for on these 
especial Shabbaths they had set apart to sing praises to him as their 
Creator-God, he was offering up sacrifices to the true Creator-God ; 
this stopped their apostacy. It will be seen that these (would-be 
princes, therefore judges) sons of Job imitated the Divine example 
of having a special day upon which to Shavath — each one had his 
day. And in this way particular days became to be associated with 
the names of the particular founders of the new apostacy; each 
lord or tribal chief having his particular day, ruling over that 
particular place or country that belonged to him and his family, 
hence there became " lords many and gods many." Now, to meet this 
new order of things, God instituted a new order of sacrifice ; instead 
of the one animal sacrifice, it was to be seven bullocks and seven 
rams ; the reason is obvious, for in sacrificing the seven bullocks and 
the seven rams upon the true Sabbath day— the seventh day — the 
true worshippers of God would be offering up a sacrifice representing 
the seven days of the week. In this way the truth was taught that 
God was God over the seven days as well as the God of the seventh 
day. And the fact that these seven bullocks and rams being 
sacrificed upon the seventh day— the Sabbath day — represented God 
as being God of gods and Lord of lords ; and they, still keeping up 
the old seventh day, it would establish and keep alive the fact that 
" I am, and there is no other God beside me, " And no other gods 
before me." That the seven animal sacrifice was appointed by God 
is clear, for we find in Job xlii. v. 8 that Eliphaz is commanded by 
God to offer up in sacrifice the seven bullocks and the seven rams, 
and Job was to act as the priest, and pray, and God heard the 
prayer of Job, or, according to the Hebrew, " The Lord accepted the 
face of Job." 

Now, I submit that if there had been no week of seven days and 



THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE. 19 

no seventh day Sabbath in the pre-Noahic age, and that time was 
simply computed by moons (months), as some scholars contend, then 
I hold that there ought to have been instituted by God, to meet the 
growing apostacy, a sacrifice of twenty-eight animals (one for each 
day), and those sacrificed upon the last day of the moon. I there- 
fore take it that as there were only seven bullocks and seven rams 
sacrificed, that proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the com- 
putation was by the week of seven days. The sacrifice of the seven 
bullocks were princely sacrifices, established in order to prevent the 
princes usurping the attributes of the Creator in the government of 
the human race ; while the rams were sacrificed by the people to 
prevent the worship of their oivn firstborn as creators. The dis- 
covery that Job as an antediluvian invests his look with the deepest 
interest to scholars, and puts us in possession of the origin of the 
seven animal sacrifices, and also the difference between the Sabbath 
of the apostate lords or gods to the Sabbath of Jehovah. The latter 
sanctified His day and made it holy, the former (if we may judge 
from Job's sons) feasted in their houses on their Shabbath, and made 
them very unholy. Job must have been contemporary with Adam, 
for the sons of God in his day had not fallen away, but kept to the 
true worship, as is evidenced by the fact that they presented them- 
selves before the Lord. 

Many scholars (including Dr. KenrJcott, " Two Dissertations on 
the Tree of Life," p. 178) suppose that the sons of God referred to 
by Job mean the true worshippers of God ; others argue from chap, 
xxxviii. 7 that the angels are signified. If the " sons of God " was 
simply an appellation given to the true worshippers of God, how is 
it that Job, who was a perfect man in his day, is not named a son of 
God ? Neither did he enjoy the marked privileges these sons of God 
enjoyed ; for each time the sons of God presented themselves before 
the Lord, there was no Job among them. Enoch, although he 
walked with God, and was not, yet he was not a '• son of God," and 
never designated as such. Adam was a son of God, and is so spoken 
of in Luke iii. 38 ; this was because he was born in Eden ; and all 
those who were born in Eden were sons of God, because they, like 
Adam, bore the image of their Creator ; but after the Fall we read 
that Adam " begat a son in his own likeness after his image," Gen 
v. 3, hence these aie always designated the "children of men,'* 
Gen. xi. 5. It was because these sons of God had intermarried with 
the daughters of men that the flood was brought about, for from 
the unholy alliance " children were born unto them, and the same 

C 2 



20 THE SABBATH IN THE PBE-NOAHIC AGE. 



became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown"; "And 
God saw that the wickedness of man was great," Gen. vi. 2, 4, 5 ; 
therefore, when the fountains of the great deep were broken up, the 
sons of God and their bastard offspring were destroyed. And the only 
sons of God we read of after the Flood (excepting the dual titles the 
Kings of Iirael and Judnh awnm***^ rro .To«ns f!hrT«»t, the h«***v»**«»»i 
Son of God, and the sons of God by adoption, the sons of God by 
creation having perished in the Flood. Jesus is the first to introduce 
God as our Father, tnd therefore we as the sons of God by adoption, 
i.e.y those who "keep the commandments of God, and have the 
testimony of Jesus Christ," Rev. xii. 17, "Those who keep the 
commandments of God (the Sabbatic command among the number) 
and the faith of Jesus," Rev. xiv. 12. 

The supposition that the sons of God were angelic beings must be 
dispensed with at once, unless it can be shown that it was possible 
for angels to take to themselves the daughters of men in marriage 
and pro- create. The only author who appears to support this view 
is Josephus, " Antiq., Book I., chap, iii., sec. 1, " For many angels of 
God accompanied with women, and begat sons, who proved unjust 
and despisers of all that was good on account of the confidence they 
had in their own strength." There cannot be the slightest doubt 
as to whom Josephus refers here; and why he has called them 
angels is simply because they bore the image of God, being created 
in God's likeness, and at one time were God's angels or messengers, 
therefore Josephus describes them rather as fallen angels than by 
the name of " sons of God." 

We referred in the previous chapter to the building of the great 
pyramid, M when the morning stars (children of Seth) sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy," Job xxxviii. ; and as this 
was built, according to Josephus, to preserve the M wisdom " of those 
days, and to exhibit that " wisdom " to all mankind, it is therefore 
of the deepest interest to us to search out and see if this " pillar of 
wisdom " has handed down to us any evidence of the " wisdom " of 
the great Creator in instituting the Sabbath. 

Josephus, in his Antiquities, Book I., chap. ii. sec. 3, accounts 
for it as follows : — 

"Now this Seth, when he was brought up, and came to those 
years in which he could discern what was good, became a virtuous 
man; and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he 
leave behind him those who imitated his virtues. All th* se proved 
to be of good disposition. They also inhabited the same country 
Without dissension and in a happy condition, without any misfortune? 



THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE. 21 



falling npon them, till they died. They also were the inventors of 
that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly 
bodies and their order : and that their inventions might not be lost 
before they were sufficiently known, upon Adam's prediction that 
the world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire, and 
at another time by the violence and quantity of water, they made 
two pillars, the one of brick, the other of stone: they inscribed 
their discoveries upon them both, that in case the pillar of brick 
should be destroyed by the Flood, the pillar of stone might remain, 
and exhibit those discoveries to mankind, and also inform them that 
there was another pillar of brick erected by them. Now this 
remains in the land of Siriad to this clay,'' 

There can be no doubt that Josephus refers here to the great 
pyramid, for he was an eye-witness, an ~ the pillai of stone; 
and since recent discoveries in the pyramid have thrown such light 
noon our infant science.*, and confirmed ti.e facts which have b en 
ascertained through the vehicle of natural religion, we can but 
wonder, we who boast of our wonderful discoveries in the sciences, to 
find that those ascertained facts were known by the children of Seth 
before the Flood, six thousand years ago for not only is the exact 
measurement of our solar year given, but the weekly circle of seven 
days. And if Professor Smyth is correct, the seventh day Sabbath 
is also marked in no unmistakeable Language (" Our Inheritance in 
the Great Pyramid," fourth edition, by Charles Piazzi Smyth, 
Astronomer-Royal for Scotland, chap. xx. pp. 446-79) : — 

'* Is there anything else at this point concerning a day ? If of days 
at all, it should be of seven days, seeing that the feature of tie 
grand gallery, most usually attractive to travellers, next after its 
commanding height, is the seven overlapping^ of its walls, 

••Now the pyramid's entrance passage has already been shown to 
have something to do with days, and the inclined passage which 
enters the north end of the grand gallery is very similar in size, 
being by measure 53*2 inches high vertically. The passage tower, 
which extends from the south end of the grand gallery, is only 43*6 
inches high vertically ; and as we cannot use either one or the other 
exclusively in referring to the grand gallery between them, we have 
to take the mean of the two. or 48*4, and then we find that that 
quantity goes seven times exactly to a hundredth into 336*2, which is 
the vertical height of the grand gallery at a mean of 15 points in 
its whole length, specially measured, too. with a grand 3 to 400 inch 
slider measuring rod. presented to me for this very purpose by 
Andrew Coventiy. Esq., of Edinburgh, in 186-t .Now, the result 
may or may not be intended ;-_ : f art of the pyramid to assist 
in typifying seven days (more stri.-tly seven half days taken twice 
over), and is of only subsidiary importance in itself, because seven 
days merely is a pagan mystical number, which anyone may hit 



22 THE SABBATH — ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 



upon, and without its having- anything to do with the Sabbath week 
of Scripture, for that was an institution which, though including or 
spanning over seven days in its entirety, was far more notable for 
commemorating' six working days thau one day of rest ; that one 
day, too, being endued with a totally distinct character, and being a 
special ordination by inspired command, to be held sacred to God 
the Creator of all . . . , In that chamber (Queen's chamber) behold 
we a fair white marble apartment, exquisitely built originally 
(except as to its present floor, which for some reason or another is 
rough, and composed of mere rudely- worked building blocks), but with 
this special and overriding feature accompanying and distinguishing 
it from the other great pyramid chambers, viz., that by reason of its 
having for ceiling a doubled inclined slope, the whole room may be 
said to have seven sides, of which seven the floor, which has not 
had a tool lifted against it within the building (though the others 
of a more finished character had), is decidedly the larger and grander 
than all the rest in area . . . But next take the major of height, or 
that central and superior height which effectually gives the room its 
seventh side and the sum of the square, there, and there alone, is 
seven or typical of the divinely ordained day of rest." 

We have now stated our case in proof of the Sabbath being 
observed by the true worshippers of G-od in the pre-Noahic age. We 
have shown, both from the positive and negative, why God should 
institute the seven animal sacrifice, and why it was necessary that 
these animals should be sacrificed upon " His n day, the seventh day 
Sabbath ; we have also the " wisdom " of that Sabbatic rest handed 
down to us in " the great Pillar of Wisdom." We therefore claim 
to have proved our case, i.e., that the Sabbath was observed even 
down to the time of Noah ; and we submit that the evidence is con- 
clusive, and will be accepted as such by those who cultivate a 
pleasure in the pursuit of truth. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 

The writer of a tract, entitled " Sabbaths ; an Enquiry into the 
Origin of the Septemary Institution," endeavours to prove that the 
Sabbatical institution was the invention of star-gazers, and tries 
to account for its sacredness by virtue of its being a lucky day. 



THE SABBATH — ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 23 

The whole of his argument rests upon the etymology of the word 
Sabbath, and is endorsed by the advocates of the Sunday Society 
especially Sir William Domville, " Sabbath," Vol. II., p. 101, who* 
(assuming that this erudite argument for ever settles the question), 
reviews this article as follows : — 

" In the article of the Septemary Institution, contained in the 
'Westminster Review,' for October, 1850, the probability of the 
origin of the week is urged with such force of argument, based upon 
fact, as almost to convert the probability into certainty. The argu- 
ment abounds with manifestations of the writer's deep researches 
into Oriental and other languages requisite to those researches. It 
were in vain to attempt, by a few extracts from this erudite argu- 
ment, to give the reader any idea of its power and solidity. I can 
do no more than to refer him to the article in the ' Review,' and 
apprise him that it has since been published separately as a pamphlet, 
entitled ' Sabbaths, or an Enquiry into the origin of the Septemary 
Institution.' " 

We extract the following from this erudite article, to give the 
reader an adequate idea of " its power and solidity " : — 

"The Hebrew names of the week are yom ehhad, day one; yom 
sheni, day two ; yom shelishi, day the third ; yom revii, day the 
fourth; yom khamishi, day the fifth; yom shishi, day the sixth; 
yom shevii, day the seventh; and Sabbath or Shabbath. 

" The English seven, the German siber, the Latin septem, and the 
Greek hepta, are apparent derivations from the Hebrew Saba or 
Shaba. Let us consider how the word has been formed. 

" Ab is father, whence also Rabbi (Rehab) ; the French, Abbe ; and 
the English, abbot ; sab or sib is grey-headed. Saba, or Sheba, 
besides being used for the numeral seven, is employed to signify age 
in the sense of fulness of years, Gen. xxv. 8, and xxxv. 29. Sahib 
throughout the East is the customary term of respect to imply 
superior rank or authority in the person addressed. Sabe is 
Coptic signifying a sage. The Druidical priests were called sabs. 
Tsabeanism was the name of the religion they taught. The Celtic 
Sab-aith was the day on which the Sabs assembled — a term in 
modern history confined to the nocturnal meeting of witches and 
sorcerers, probably from the Hebrew tsaba, which means an assembly, 
an appointed time, and the planetary host. (In all these the ruling 
idea is connected with the word father ; they mean prophet, father, 
aged father, wise father, assembly of fathers, worship of the fathers.) 

" The Saba day was, therefore, we may conclude, the day on which 
the grey-headed men, or aged fathers of a tribe were in the habit of 
assembling for council or sacrifice, the interval of their meetings 
if hebdomadal — and they would necessarily be so — for the observance 
of the lunar festivals of India, would be Saba day periods. Saba, 
therefore, became a term of computation, standing for the numeral 
seven ; just in the same way the moon became identified with the 



24 THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 

period of a lunation, which we still call moon or month. The public 
business transacted, and the religious assemblies observed on a Saba 
day, caused that day to be regarded as a more important day than 
any other, and necessarily gave the number seven a marked signifi- 
cance, which made it appropriate for anything that was complete or 
perfect. Afterwards, with the assistance of astronomical priests, it 
grew into a fortunate number and a sacred number." 

The reader will not fail to notice the ingenuity of this author ; and 
all that can be said to favour the idea that the Sabbath is a human 
institution he has said. But let us see if his argument warrants the 
conclusion at which he has arrived. We are told that the " Saba 
days were the days on which the Sabs or grey-headed fathers of the 
tribes met for council or sacrifice, and that the interval of their 
meeting if hebdomadal — and they would necessarily be so — for the 
observance of the lunar festivals of India, would be Saba periods.' 
Why the observance of a lunar festival (which we will assume for 
argument) was a Saba period, cradled into existence the week of 
seven days, and at the same time made that period also a Saba day, 
we are at a loss to understand. We know that the orbs were placed 
in the heaven for signs and for seasons, and all the star gazing in the 
world could not extract from them the period of seven days; but 
we are further told that '• Saba, therefore, became a period of com- 
putation, standing for the numeral seven." If our friend could 
prove that the numeral seven was derived from the Hebrew Saba, it 
would be so, but there is not the slightest aflinity between the yom 
shevii and the Shab-bath. We leave this for the reader to judge. 
Again, if Saba and seven are synonymous, then all Saba days would 
be seventh days, and the lunar festivals of India would be seventh 
day festivals. In this case the moon or month would only consist of 
seven days. Again, the first day and the last day of the Jewish 
feasts were Sabbath days, and not seventh days, and not in any way 
connected with the number seven. " The public business transacted, 
and the religious assemblies observed on a Saba day, caused that day 
to be regarded more than any other day [that may be, but we must 
remember that the Saba day would be the lunar festival ; and at 
present there is not a particle of evidence to show that the Saba 
day was the seventh day ; this the writer has assumed], and that 
necessarily gave the number seven a marked significance, which 
made it appropriate for anything that was complete or perfect ; then 
afterwards, with the assistance of astronomical priests, it grew into 
a fortunate number aaid a sacred number." Let us assume that the 
week was the invention of the Saba, and that they met for council 



THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 



on the seventh day, that would never make that day sacred; im- 
possible. Again, if their meeting upon a Saba day gave that day any 
pre-eminence, then the lunar festivals would be the most sacred, 
because, without doubt, they would be Saba days. Again, so far as 
these days becoming lucky days, we know that in Rome these lucky 
days were turned into unlucky ones. A lucky day was a day upon 
which they gained a victory, and sometimes they would wait for 
this day to commence a battle, and upon this particular day they 
would sometimes meet with a reverse, then the day became a very 
unlucky day. We know that even among the Hebrewist tribes that 
when thier Temple was captured by Pompey B. c. 63, that 
that Sabbath was afterwards observed as a great fast day. History 
nowhere gives the slightest evidence that a lucky day was a sacred 
day, but just the reverse — a day of festivity, which ended in a 
Bacchanalian feast. It is therefore clear to demonstration that the 
e ymology of the word Sabbath, which the writer has pressed into 
service to overthrow the sacred character of the day, has proved to 
be but an Egyptian reed, whereon if a man lean, is will pierce him. 

The question to be decided is, not so much as to whether the Sab 
originated the week, but did the Sab originate the seventh day as a 
sacred day, or did this sanctified period of rest sanctify the Sab ? 
Which existed first, the sanctified Sab or the period of sanctified 
rest ? That is the question. To answer that we must go to the 
Scriptures, and see what light they will throw upon it. We have 
already evidenced the fact that the period of sanctified rest was 
instituted by Jehovah when He created man, and that man enjoyed 
that period of sanctified rest when in the Eden of Paradise. We 
have shown that the pre-diluvians had the knowledge of this period 
of sanctified rest. Was this knowledge perpetuated to posterity, or 
did Noah and his descendants lose this pearl of days ? To answer 
this, We ask, Did the Noahic race preserve the idea of holiness ? for 
if they did, then it is a moral certainty that they had the period of 
sanctified rest. If, however, on the other hand, they lost this idea, 
they lost this primeval rest ; for we cannot suppose that a fallen 
world, a profligate race, a God-forgetting people, would set apart a 
period of time and sanctify it by worshipping the true God. The 
week they might retain, but the sacredness of the seventh day they 
never could. It may be argued that the Israelites, in their most 
degraded condition, preserved the day. This we admit; but we 
must remember that the circumstances were altogether different. 
A twelfth of the people were Sabs, seers or priests — a tribe set apart 



26 TTE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 

for the specific purpose of ushering- in the festivals by the blowing 
of trumpets. They were especially commissioned for the purpose, 
hence the priest and the day became identified ; and in order that 
they might effectually preserve the day, they were not allowed 
any territorial inheritance, but had to live among the tribes. From 
the Flood to Abraham it was not so. We have no evidence that 
would prove that it was the special mission of any one to proclaim 
their festival, and to usher in the Sabbatic rest. True, the firstborn 
was the priest of the family, whose duty it was to hand down to his 
son's son the sanctity of the day ; these, however, handed down the day 
of their own progenitors as their progenitor-gods. This is conclusive, 
for even Abraham himself was an idolater : " And Joshua said unto 
the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt 
on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of 
Abraham, and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods" 
(Joshua xxiv. 2), therefore the day handed down by Terah to 
Abraham his son would be the day dedicated to their deified progenitor 
Nachor ; and had not God taken Abraham out of his father's house, 
Abraham would have handed down to his family the day dedicated 
to Terah as their deified progenitor. This being so, it follows that 
as the world became more sin-stricken, so in like manner would the 
idea of the sanctified period of rest die out. Therefore we are quite 
prepared to admit, what most of the early Fathers assert, i.e., that 
Abraham was unacquainted with this period of rest. 

Admitting that the day was lost, we ask, Who found it, or who 
originated it ? Now, if the Scriptures be an authority upon the 
point, they clearly state that " God made known His Holy Sabbath," 
and that it was God and not man who gave or restored this blessed 
institution of sanctified rest. Nehemiah is very conclusive upon 
this point, chap. ix. 13-15, " Thou earnest down also upon Mount Sinai, 
and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right j udg- 
ments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments : and 
madest known unto them thy ■ holy ' Sabbaths, and commandedst 
them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant. 
And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest 
forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promised st 
them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst 
sworn to give them." Now, if God made known His holy Sabbath 
upon the mount through Moses, it is clear that they had lost this 
day of sanctified rest ; because, if they had not lost it, it could not 
3e said that Jehovah made known His holy Sabbath through the 



THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 27 

hand of Moses. This argument gains strength by the wording of 
the Fourth Commandment ; for although the existence of the insti- 
tution was well known in Egypt, yet the Sabbath was not known as 
a period of sanctified rest, but rather as a day of feasting, hence the 
command, " Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days 
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work [this was designed to cut at 
the very root of all the Egyptian festival Sabbaths] : for the seventh 
day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy G-od." 

If this Scriptural evidence be admitted, it for ever settles the 
question that the Sabs (or star-gazers) did not originate the holy 
Sabbath day, but that this holy day was a Divine institution, given 
by God Himself, and incorporated in those laws which are to govern 
the human race. This being so. then this period of sanctified rest 
called into existence the sanctified Sab; for when the law was 
given, it was absolutely necessary that the people should be taught 
the laws, in order that they might obey them, therefore one tribe 
out of the twelve was set apart and sanctified for this purpose, i.e., 
for reading aloud the law to the people, and this was upon the 
seventh day, when they came up to worship before the Lord their God. 

The first introduction we have of the word Sabbath was by Moses, 
who had been an Egyptian priest — a Sabe. A double portion of 
manna had fallen upon the sixth day, and the rulers of the people 
came and told Moses, and he said unto them " This is that which the 
Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the 
Lord," Ex. xvi. 23. And although Moses told the people that the day 
was holy, yet some went out to gather on the Sabbath, " And the Lord 
said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and 
my laws ? See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, there- 
fore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days ; abide ye 
every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh 
day. So t;e people rested on the seventh day," Ex. xvi. 28-30. 
This Sabbath, which inaugurated the week, was observed differently 
to all the other Sabbaths that came after it, for the reason that it 
was the first Sabbath of a festival, hence the first and last day of 
the Hebrew festivals were Sabbaths. This Sabbath was not a 
sanctified Sabbath in the sense of the sanctified Sabbath after the 
giving of the Law ; for this inaugurative Sabbath was simply the first, 
and as such was a " feast " Sabbath, upon which day they would " feast 
to the Lord their God," preparatory to the covenant to be entered 
into between the God who had redeemed them on the one hand and 
they themselves on the other hand. When the covenant had been 



28 THE SABBATH — ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 

made, then it was ratified by another " feast to the Lord their G-od," 
which would be a sanctified Sabbath in the strictest sense ofi the 
word ; for then they became a sanctified people, separate and 
distinct from all the nations by acknowledging one true Creator? 
God, a%id worshipping Him only, and this by virtue of the terms 
of the ^covenant, i.e., " All that the Lord hath, said we .will . do 
and obey." * However, in contradistinction to the' popular mode of 
keeping a feast Sabbath, in public rejoicings and revelry, they- had tp 
abide every man in hi6 house until they had learned how to keep the 
Sabbath day holy. This feast Sabbath is still commemorated in the 
feast of the Sabbath of to-day, which is kept up on the eve of the 
Sabbath. The sanctified Sabbath is commemorateid by the rehearsing 
of the Word of the Covenant and singing the Song of Redemption. 
, The compound word Sab-beth is derived. from two worcjls, Sab— 
Priest, and Beth a stone. We endorse all the writer has said about 
the Sa be as being the Coptic for preacher, teacher, wise man, sage, 
prophet, father, aged father, wise father, &c. Mr. Cleland, in " The 
Way to Things by Words and to Words by Things," p. 42, says : — 

11 The word Sabbath has two significations, the one in the Hebrew, 
the other in the Celtic, the near affinity in which of one to the other 
is but a reason the more for drawing the line of separation, especially 
as it accounts for the prevalence of the vulgar in the days of 
ignorance and superstition. 

11 In the Heorew, according to Josephus and Eusebius, the word 
Sabbath day signifies a day of rest ; the Dutch translate it so literally 
— De Rustdag ; about the derivation there is no difficulty. But 
in the Celtic the same word signifies a teacher or doctor, instructor. 
The true word is SabaitJi, from Sab, a knowing man; or, to use the 
ancient term, a cunning man, or mag magus, in the sense of sage or 
wise person; and aith, preachment, doctrine, or with more emphasis 
4 the word.' It is strictly synonymous to the Welsh Celfydd, 
4 skilled in the faith,' and the old word kel or Caldey. - It is to -be 
observed that Sab t in the sense of knowing or wise, is the radical of 
sapiens and of sophos in the Greek, sano in the Italian, of saber in 
the Spanish, &c. It was also like the word good, employed to 
express the Deity, thence Sabasius, or the Being, excellent in 
wisdom. The Sabins took this name from this pretension. In Gaul 
and in Briton it signifies a Druidical teacher. Sabins or Zabus was a 
hyperborean word, and equivalent to Galeotoa, the Druid of Sicily 
mentioned by Ciceio." 

All Hebraists have accepted Joscphus's definition of the word 
Sabbath as meaning in the Hebrew rest (Josephus's Antiq., Book I., 
chap. 1, sec. 1), and have not questioned his statement. To assert 
thnt the Snbbath in the Hebrew means rest is simply to confuse and 



THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 29 



call the effect the cause, and to overlook entirely the cause. If 
Sabbath and rest are synonymous, then we have a Sabbath every 
time we go to rest for the night, hence we should have seven 
Sabbaths in the week. The Hebrew word for rest is yisboth (Gen. 
ii. 2), and hisbalaym (Ex. v. 5), and there is not one instance where 
the word Sabbath is used for the word rest. At the time that 
Josephus wrote, the etymology of the word Sabbath had been lost 
to the Hebrews, and that for at least 500 years, but partly preserved 
in the Sabe of Egypt and the Sab of the Celtic Druidical priest, 
hence the meaning of the word is priest, prophet, or preacher. The 
word bath, bit, bith, beth, bayth, bayith, and bajith is simply a stone, 
upon which the Sab stood, hence Sab-bath was the Sab stone. Here 
again I find that all our Hebrew scholars, follow King James's 
translation, and have invariably translated the word Beth into house 
and Bethel, house of God. 

Bryant, in his " Ancient Mythology," Vol. L, writes as follows on 
the word Beth : — 

" Beth is a house or temple, as in Beth-el, Beth-dagon, Beth- 
shemesh, Beth-ovon, or Beth-or, On, &c. It is sometimes subjoined 
as in Shar-beth and Eliza- beth, the latter of which is the house of 
Eliza, the same as Elusa of Idume, and Eleusa of Egypt. Beth was 
in different countries expressed Bat, Bad, Abad, hence we meet in 
this day with Pharasabad, Astrabad, Amenadab, Moustasabad, 
Jenhenbad, in Persia, India, and other parts of the East. Balbec, 
in Syria, is supposed to be the same as Balbeth, the temple of Bal or 

the Sun Phainabath is only Phaina-beth varied, and signifies 

the place sacred to Phanes, which was one of the most ancient titles 
of the Deity in Egypt. So Phar-beth was an abbreviation of Phara- 
beth, or the house of Pharaoh." 

With all due respect to the profound learning of so eminent a 
scholar as Jacob Bryant, I must confess that I cannot follow him or 
our translators ; for I hold that if the word Beth is to be translated 
into English, then stone, or more correctly throne is the word, and 
not house. " Beth " (says Mr. Bryant) " is a house or temple, as in 
Beth-el." Let us refer to Bethel in Gen. xxviii. 18, " And Jacob rose 
up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his 
pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of iti 
And he called the name of that place Beth-el : but the name of that 
city was Luz at the first," and v. 22, " And this stone, which I have 
set up for a pillar, shall be Beth-el," i.e.; God's stone (and not as our 
translators have put it, God's house) — a stone set up for a pillar of 
witness between God and himself, that if God should do certain 
things, then that God should be his God, and the pillar stone should 



30 THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 



be his God stone. How is it possible to convert a pillar stone 

a house, as our translators have done, I must leave for those 

^-*>raists who follow Bryant to determine. I am fully prepared to 
admit that the stone gave its name to the place, and that which was 
known as Luz afterwards became known as Beth-el; and also that 
the oak became known as the oak of weeping-. In Gen. xxxi. 13, we 
have God saying, " I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst 
the pillar [not house], and where thou vowest a vow unto me, Now 
arise, get thee oat of this land, and return unto the land of thy 
kindred " ; . . ." So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Ca<inan« 
that is Beth-el, he and the people that were with him, and he built 
an altar, and called the place El- Beth-el, because there God appeared 
to him when he fled from the face of his brother," Gen. xxxv. 6. 
Now, if Beth-el means ho'ise of God, then El-Beth-el must mean 
God's house God, that is, if we accept the translation of our 
translators. If, however, on the other hand, we translate the word 
Beth into stone, all is plain and simple, El would mean the 
(el, elah, elon, allah, and allon), oak, Beth, stone, El God, " God's 
pillar, stone, under the oak " ; and also it would mean the oath taken 
by Jocob, that the God of Beth-el should be his God, for it is 
significant that the same Hebrew word which signifies oak means 
an>oath also (see " Journal of Sacred I*i-teratu ; i;e," New Series, Vol. I., 
p. 227). - This, will explain why God made this solemn promise to 
Abraham. under the oak, Gen. xii. 6, 7, and also in the oaks, or~at 
the plains qf Harare, as it is in the Hebrew (but hot iii our transla- 
tion), Gen. xviii. 1. It was under an oak, the oak by Shecnem, that 
Jacob' bulled as it were by an oath not to have any m,ore to do with, 
the images and earrings of his household,' Gen. xxxv. 4l Joshua set 
up .a pillar under the oak, Josh. xxiv.26; and it was under the oak 
that the angel met Giaeon, Judges vi. 11-21. "It would appear 
(writes H. C. Barlow, M.D., "Journal of Sacred Literature," New 
Series, Vol. I., p. 277), therefore, that the oak in Palestine was 
regarded as the emblem of a Divine covenant, and : indicated the 
religious appropriation of any stone monument erected beneath it ; 
and also that it was symbolical of the Divine presence j possibly from 
association." ' * v 

The next reference of Mr. Bryant is Beth Dagon. : Here, again, it 
means a stone and not a house, 1 Sam. v. 2-7. Here, the Ark is 
brought before Beth Dagon, the deity being enthroned upon his 
beth ; the god Dagon falls from his throne and is replaced. This 
compound deity— -half a man and half a fish— falls again, but this 



THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 31 

time he falls to pieces, never to be enthroned again. The next is 
Beth Shemish, a disc or image of the sun enthroned upon his beth- 
The woodcut (page 32) is a representation of the sun god, taken from 
the Assyrian Gallery, British Museum. Beth-any, the dates, Beth, the 
Btone upon which the firstfruits of the dates was worshipped as the 
creator of its own species bearing seed in itself. Beth-Tuppauah, 
the apples, Beth, the stone upon which the firstfruit of apples was 
placed and worshipped (Josh. xv* 58). Beth-palet. the refugees, 
Beth, or sanctuary stone f Josh, xv. 27). Beth-peor (Deut. iii. 29). 
Beth-peor. the stone upon which the image of Peor was enthroned. 
Beth-lehem (2 Sam. xxiii. 15), the breads, Beth, or the stone upon 
which the new bread was placed and worshipped. Beth-Gilgal (Neh. 
xii. 29), the princes, prophets, or Sab-beth, or stone upon which they 
stood when in council or reading the law, hence Sab-beth day. 
Beth-zur (Josh. xv. 58), the Beth or stone upon which the Prince 
Zur stood to administer justice (Josh. xiii. 21). Phar-beth, an abbre- 
viation of Pharabeth, the Beth or stone upon which all the Pnaraohs 
were enthroned, crowned, and deified. 

The Hebrew word kisse, which has invariably been translated 
throne, is misleading. The kisse was the royal seat or chair, and 
when used the beth or throne went by the name of footstool. In 
the earliest ,repres§AtatipnSiW43 have t^e, princes standing upon the 
beth_s. The kisse_ or . chair is j)f__late introduction. In 2_Kings iv. 10 
kisse is translated stool : " Let us make, I pray thee, a. little chamber 
on the wall, and let us set 'for ! him(Elislia) there a bed, and' a 'tabled 
and a kisse (chair), and a candlestick." In Prov. ix. 14 kisse is trans- 
lated seat: " For she sitteth at the door of her house on a kisse 
(chair ) in the high places of the city " ; and in 1 Sam. i. 9 it is 
also translated seat : ** Now Eli the v priest sat upon a kisse (chair) by 
a post of the temple of the Lord/' ! aiid in 2 Sam. v'ii. 13, " He shall 
build a house (erect a beth) for my name, and T will establish trhe 
throne (kisse or l chair) of his kingd'om for ever." Thus the beth' 
was God s; throne'," while the kisse was Solomon's royal chair. This 
beth always went by' the name of " footstool *' when the 'kisse or 
chair was used ; " And. there were six steps to the throne (k l isse or 
Chair), with a footstool of gold," 2 Chrdn. ix. 18 (tne beth or stoW 
being 1 encased with gold, excepting the' surface upon which the feet 
rested); and in IChron. xxviii. 2: " Then David the king stood 
upon his ; feet (the meaning of which is he stood upon his beth,' 
king stone, or footstool), and said, Hear me, my brethren, and m$ 
people : as for me, it was in mine heart to build an house (erect a 



32 



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THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY A3TD SANCTITY. 33 

beth or stone) of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and 
ior the footstool of our God," not that the house or temple was to be 
a footstool, as our translators have put it, but that it was the inten- 
tion of David to erect a stone or beth upon which to place the ark 
as its permanent resting- place, as it was placed in a similar manner 
by the Philistines, who had set. it down upon the famous beth or 
stone which, was dedicated to the sun at Beth-shemesh. That the 
ark was the footstool or throne "of God is conclusive. Ewald in 
his M Antiquities of Israel," p. 123, says ; — 

, "The two chembims were fixed to a plate of pure gold,. which was 
suspended as a footstool over the ark, and was like a second cover 
of corresponding length and breadth, but separate from it. Its 
proper name was ' the footstool,' and it indicated the spot where 
Jahvah had as it were His footstool and abode ; ' And there will I 
meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the 
mercy seat.' And according to the Book of the Covenants, the 
corresponding feature is ' the work of art, the gleaming sapphire,"' 
which was to be seen under the feet of Jahvah when He descended 
upon Mount Sinai, Ex. xxiv. 10." 

Having discovered the etymology of the word under considera- 
tion, our task is comparatively easy. What has puzzled the greatest 
scholars will now be found clear and unmistakeable ; and at the same 
time will throw a flood of light, not only upon the subject of our 
investigation, but upon the ancient Orientalism that is figured 
upon the monuments, and their complete harmony with the sacre4 
history that has come doftTL to us from the hoary age of antiquity. 
•Sab-beth is Sab stone, and Sab-beth day is the day upon which the 
SaB would be found standing upon his beth within the Gilgal to 
usher in the festivals, new moons, and every seventh day. Josephus 
in his Wars, Book IV., chap. 10, -sec. 1, has the following : — 

" The priests stood, of course, and gave a signal beforehand with 
a" trumpet at the beginning of eVery seventh day in the evening 
twilight, as also in the evening when the day was finished, as 1 ' giving 
notice to the people when they were to leave off work, and when 
they were to go to work again " ; and in his Antiquities, Book XVI., 
chap. 2, sec. 3, he says : " And the seventh day we set apart from 
labour ; it was dedicated to the learning of our customs and laws, 
we thinking it proper to reflect on them as well as on any good 
thing else, in order to avoid sin." 

But the most glorious testimony is that given by the Pagan 
Agatharchides, and quoted by Josephus against Apion. Bk II., sec. 22 : 

" There are a people called Jews, who dwell in a city, the strongest 
of all other cities, which the inhabitants call Jerusalem, and are 
accustomed to rest on every seventh day, on which time they make 



34 THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 

no use of their arms, nor meddle with husbandry, nor take care of 
any affairs of life, but spread out their hands in their holy places, 
and pray till the evening." 

Now the holy places in which the Sab stood upon his beth did not 
exist until some time after the law of Moses was given, for the first 
holy place that was erected (after Sinai, for that was enclosed with 
the twelve pillars, and was therefore holy) was that on the other side 
of the Jordan. When they had crossed that river, it was then they 
erected their twelve pillar stones, and it was from the bed of the 
river that they took out these beths or princes' stone, for they were 
the stones the priests " stood " upon when bearing the ark of the 
Lord in the midst of the river Jordan. These stones became the 
beths of the twelve tribes, for each tribal prince had his stone upon 
which he stood when in the Gil-gal. The pillar stones were always 
left standing as memorial stones, but the beths or tribal stones upon 
which they stood were taken charge of by the prince, and carried 
from place to place ; and it was within the circle of these twelve 
pillar stones that the priest stood upon his beth to proclaim the 
festivals. Hence the day became known as a Sab-betlfs day, and the 
Gil-gal became the holy places — the circle of the twelve pillar stones. 
These holy places were erected throughout the length and breadth 
of the land, sometimes known under the name of " The house of the 
Lord," sometimes " Bethel," and sometimes " Mizpeh " ; bub the 
proper name for them was Gil-gal, because this expresses the fact 
that the stones were erected in a circle, and that the beths were 
placed within that circle. Thus it was a wheel within a wheel, the 
memorial pillar or Mizpah stones forming the outer circle, while the 
small tribal stones formed the inner circle, the meaning of Gil-gal 
in Hebrew being a double circle or a circle within a circle. It was a 
Gil-gal that Ezekiel saw in his vision (chap i.). They were used upon 
every important occasion. If they wanfced to decide anything that 
affected the nation, each tribal prince repaired to the Gil-gal to 
discuss and settle the matter ; it became the " great law court," and 
also a place of refuge and a sanctuary. It was here the kings were 
crowned, and the place of safety for the ark before it was carried 
into the temple. The earth was raised in the centre in imitation of 
the Sinaic mount, the covenant place, and this formed the altar upon 
which the priests offered the sacrifices ; hence they became known 
as the high places. The most important in the time of David and 
Solomon was the one at Gibeon, on which Solomon sacrificed one 
thousand burnt offerings (1 Kings iii. 2-4 ; 1 Chron. xxix.). All this 



THE SABBATH — ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SAKCTITY. 85 

will explain that verse in 2 Kings xvi. 18, "And the covert for the 
Sabbath that they had built in the house." The covert of the 
Sabbath was simply a covering over the Sab's beth, which was in the 
house, i.e., Gil-gal; hence the covert for the Sabbath, or a covering 
over the Sab or priest's stone, the beth he stood upon when he pro- 
claimed the festival. The meaning of this verse has puzzled our 
greatest scholars, for they have never been able to understand it. 
The word Sabbath being an abstract noun, how was it possible to put 
it under a covert ? We can now see that it is quite possible to place 
a covering over a Sab's beth, for there is all the difference between 
a Sab-beth's day and a Sab's beth. While it is quite possible to put 
a Sab's beth under a covert, it is utterly impossible to put a Sabbath 
day under a covert. The writer who chronicled this knew the 
difference, and was therefore perfectly justified in placing on record 
44 that the king removed the covert of the Sabbath." 

The Sab had his beth in Egypt long before the laws were given, 
and the Sabs had a special day set apart when they would be found 
standing upon their beths instructing the people, and that day the 
day dedicated to the deity. Herodotus on this point says : — 

" The Egyptians were the authors of the following inventions : 
They know to what god each month and day belongs, and upon the 
day on which any one is born, they make out what will befall him, 
and how he will die, and what sort of a person he will be. These 
inventions have been made use of by the Greek poets." II. 28. 

Here, then, we have every day dedicat 3d to some particular deity ; 
not that the whole Egyptian calendar were Sab-beth days, but that 
the deities being local, each deity was supposed to govern its own 
locality — hence local calendars. In fact our own Christianity is but 
a baptized paganism in this respect, with this difference, however, 
in Egypt and Canaan the gods who presided over the different 
localities were independent of each other ; and the people of one dis- 
trict respected the god of another district, as in the case of Jephthah 
respecting the God of Ammon (Judges xi. 24) ; therefore some 
would shavath on one day and some on another. In England, how- 
ever, the saints, who have taken the place of the pagan gods (each 
parish being named after some particular saint), are all commemo- 
rated whenever the ritual of the saints' days are kept. The custom 
of a Sab standing upon his beth was not confined to the Israelites, 
but was a primeval and universal custom. There is not an Egyptian 
or Assyrian god but that we find him standing or sitting with hit- 
feet upon his beth. In fact this is the throne upon which h. 

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THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 37 

stood. On some of the monuments in the British Museum figures 
are to be seen representing the king- journeying-, his kisse (chair) and 
beth or stone being carried by his assistants by means of a rods placed 
through the rings that were fastened to each end of the stone and 
also through the kisse or chair. A king's beth was sometimes called a 
»' lawgiver," because no one had a right to give the laws but the 
king, and bhat when he stood upon his stone bo proclaim any new 
law, the store then went by the name " lawgiver," and this will 
explain Judah's blessing, " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver (i.e. stone) from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; 
and unto him shall the gathering of the people be," Gen. xlix. 10. 
The stone Jacob laid his head upon to sleep, when too late to enter 
the city, was called by him Beth-el, God's stone, because he there 
made a vow, that if God would bring him back safe to his father's 
house in peace, then should this Lord be his God, au4 Ijhe stone which 
he had set up for a pillar should be Bethel (not God's house, as our 
translators have put it), but Go^'s stone. God, brought hin\back safe, 
and when Jacob repaired to Bethel, the stone was adopted by. Jacol) 
as El-Bethel. When, however, his name became changed from Jacob 
to that of Israel — a prince, this very stone became his beth, the 
prince's stone upon which he stood as a prince. And when about to 
die, his sons gathered around him, and Jacob, placing his feet upon 
the stone (sitting on the bed), he prophesied, and then he gathered his 
feet up into his, bed. This stone passed into the hands of Joseph, who 
inherited the birthright blessing; "from thence is the shepherd the 
stone of Israel." The beth then became a shepherd stone, that; is to 
Bay, the leading tribe was Joseph, and that tribe carried this stone, 
the meaning of which the other tribes were bound to follow. 
When, however, some of the tribes revolted against Moses in the 
plains of Moab, Eran, in whose possession was the stone, took it to 
Ireland, and upon this stone for centuries the princes of Eran were 
crowned. From Tarah, in Ireland, it was taken to Scotland, and 
from thence to England, and to this very day it is the coronation 
stone of England upon which all the kings and queens have been 
crowned, and may now be seen under the coronation chair in West- 
minster Abbey. 

We have seen that the Sabbath existed before the giving of the 
law upon Mount Sinai ; that it was a stone the priests stood upon 
when meting justice or rehearsing the king's command, or issuing a 
proclamation* etc ; but what we have not seen is that that day was 
the seventh p^ay^ and that day a period of sanctified rest : for there 



38 THE SABBATH— ITS ETYMOLOGY AND SANCTITY. 

is not an at:m of evidence — either monumental or manuscript — that 
would prove that the Egyptians were acquainted with the week of 
seven days, or that the seventh day was sacred, but just the reverse. 
If we go to the monuments, for instance, we shall see these gods for 
the most part are clusters of beasts, birds, reptiles, flies, etc., grouped 
together in the most horrid and di-gusbing manner — compound 
deities : and what they could not do in a natural, or more correctly, 
in an unnatural way, the sculptor has done with his mallet and 
chisel ; for sodomy was not only licensed, but cataminus also ; for these 
horrid practices were not only confined to Sodom and Gomorrah, 
but were also practised in Egypt. And can it be supposed for a 
moment that when they paii their adorations to these licentious 
divinities, they would be less licentious ? Was not Jehovah against 
all the gods of Egypt by reason of this gross wickedness and corrup- 
tion? and is it not a philosophical truth that a people become 
assimilated to the object they worship ? It was so with Venus 
worship. The adorations to this goddess made Greece a city of 
prostitution, for the highest to the lowest were consecrated to her ; 
(and in Home the festival in honour of the Goddess Floralia (4th of 
the Calends of May) the women danced naked in the streets). In 
the language of a late writer, " They clothed beasts and depraved 
beings with the attribute of almightyness, and in effect they wor- 
shipped almighty beasts and devils." It follows, therefore, that the 
Egyptian Sabbaths were days set apart for the worship of these 
divinities. They must have necessarily been days of feasting and 
revelry, and a license for, and an incentive to, a command to imitate 
the objects to which they would pay their adorations. It is thus 
clear to demonstration, and beyond the possibility of doubt, that this 
period of sanctified rest sanctified the Sib, and that this glorious 
institution was not of human origin, but Divine ; and the statement 
of Nehemiah is a truism, for God made known His holy Sabbaths, 
and all the brilliant intellects that the nineteenth century can 
produce cannot assail this truth. The monuments and manuscripts 
agree in proclaiming the fact that this period of sanctified rest was 
not man's invention, but Jehovah's introduction. 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 39 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE TWO DECALOGUES— THE DISCREPANCY— WHICH IS 

TRUE ?— ATHEISTICAL OBJECTION— CHRISTIAN 

APOLOGISTS— THE MYSTERY SOLVED. 

Among the many objections that have been raised by the scholastic 
atheist against the truthfulness of the sacred record is the great 
discrepancy that is found to exist in the two versions of the Ten 
Commandments, and notably, the reasons given in each code for the 
observance of the Sabbath. The atheist has asked (which he had a 
perfect right to do of his Christian brethren) an explanation of the 
words of God Himself, which were written with His own fingers, 
and the apologist has not satisfied the scholastic critic. The atheist 
has asked for bread, but has been offered a stone ; and until we give 
him the bread he honestly asks for, we cannot consistently expect 
that he will accept the stone. Neither can we expect him to 
embrace as a truth, per se, that which his reason and common sense 
repels. 

The Christian apologist, in meeting the objection, has been com- 
pelled to sacrifice a universal Sabbath — a Sabbath made for man — 
upon the Jewish altar, asserting that the Sabbath is ritual, binding 
only on the Jews, in commemoration of their deliverance from 
Egyptian bondage. A clergyman, the Rev. Charles Voysey, before 
he left the Church, wrote the following letter to the late Archbishop, 
which appeared in The Times, and is copied into Cox's " Sabbath 
Literature," Vol. L, p. 435 :— 

Healaugh Parsonage, Tadcaste, 

Nov. 15th, 1864. 

"My Lord Archbishop,— On the 42nd page of your Grace's 
Primary Charge there is one short passage upon which I beg very 
respectfully to ask one question. The passage referred to I now 
quote, taking the liberty of emphasizing those words which I would 
draw your attention to. 

" * All we would maintain under the title of plenary inspiration 
is the universal authority of every portion of it as written under 
the Divine inspiration, securing the writers from error and falsehood, 
the exact words being in some cases dictated, as was the case with the 
delivery of the Decalogue.' 



±0 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



" I most respectfully ask your Grace which of the two versions of 
the Decalogue is here referred to as having 1 been written in the 
exact words dictated by God. Nearly eveiy one is aware that the 
version given in Deut. v. differs materially from the one given in 
Exodus in the wording of the Fourth Commandment. And what 
renders the discrepancy more remarkable and irreconcilable is, thab 
the words ' For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the 
sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day ; where- 
fore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it,' given 
in Ex. xx. 11, are altogether omitted from the version given in 
Deut. v., where we find not only a different reason assigned for 
God's command, but also a very solemn note at the end of the 
Decalogue, which virtually impugns the authority of the version 
given in Exodus. 'These words the Lord spake unto all your 
assembly . . . . with a great voice and he added no more ; and he 
wrote them in two tables, of stone, and delivered them unto me.' 

"If the Lord 'added no more ' than what is given in the Deca- 
logue in Deut. v., and spoken of as 'these words,' then we may 
presume that He did not add the/ words given in Exodus, * For in six 
days the Lord made heaven and earth,' etc. 

4, I am not pretending to call your Grace's attention to these 
discrepancies for the first time, knowing how many profound 
scholars have studied and tried to reconcile them. I quote the 
Bible words simply to justify my sincere anxiety to be informed on 
so grave a subject by one whose exalted position in ^ the ,Church of 
itself guarantees to a respectful and honest inquirer the best answer 
that can be given. 

; * k I may have misunderstood your Grace's meaning in thinking 
that the passage I hpve ijuoted from the ' Charge ' implies that there 
is a Decalogue extant, of which the ' exact words ' were ' dictated ' 
by God Himself. If I am not mistaken, allow me once more to ask 
which of the two versions of the Decalogue does your Grace refer to. 
My Lord Archbishop, I have 'the honour to be, 

Your Grace's most obedient humble servant, 
}\. i ■ ; - .. : ■ . » . ; Charles Voysey, . . 

»*» ... . ... Incumbent of . Healaughr -^ 



Sandon, Nov. 21, 1864. 
Reverend Sir, — I beg to acknowle lge the receipt of your letter 
of the 15th November. 

I am, Sir, your faithful and obedient servant, 

C. T. Cantuar. 

Mr. Robert Cox presses this argument into service to overthrow a 
universal Sabbath, and writes as follows (•' Sabbath Laws "), p. 95 :— *■ 

? '" That some of these Deuterotoe or other expounders or custodians 1 
of the Book of the Law, or its restorers after the Captivity, made 
an addition to the Fourth Commandment seems probable from the 



THE TWO DECALOGUE^. 4 J 



fact that in. the two copies oiLthe Decalogue given in the Pentateuctjr, 
the words of the Commandment are slightly different, and the 
reasons annexed to it in no respect the same. 
In Ex. xx. 8-11 we read — But in Deut. v. 12-15 we read — 

" * Remember the Sabbath day, " ' Keep the Sabbath day to 
to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou sanctify it, as the Lord thy God 
labour, and do all tby work: But hath commanded thee. Six days 
the seventh day is the Sabbath of thou shalt labour, and do all thy 
the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt work: But the seventh day is 
not do any work, thou, nor thy the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : 
son, nor thy daughter, ithy man- in it thou: shalt not do any work> 
servant^ nor thy maidservant, nor thou, nor thy son,, nor thy 
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that daughter, nor thy manservant, 
is within thy gates : F»r in six nor thy maidservant, nor thine 
days the Lord made heaven and ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy 
earth, the sea, and all that in cattle, nor thy stranger that is 
them is f and ^rested the -seventh within thy gates ; that thy man- 
day: wherefore the Lord blessed servant and thy maidservant may 
the seventh day and Hallowed it.' rest as well as thou. And re- 
j member that thou wast a servant 

in the land of Egypt, and that 
the Lord thy God brought thee 
out thence through; a mighty 
hand and by a stretched out arm i 
therefore the Lord thy God com- 
manded thee to keep the Sabbath, 
day.' " • ..; ><*% 

" It may be assumed that, whether or not Moses was the writer of 
the Pentateuch, both of these reasons are not inscribed upon the 
tables of stone (for had they been so, it is likely that both would* 
have been recorded in each of the two copies of the Decalogue) ; 
and some commentators have even concluded that the discrepancy 
makes it doubtful if either of the reasons was. But supposing that 
one of the editions of the Commandments, including the reason 
annexed, is authentic, I think that we are bound to prefer that 
given in Deuteronomy, which not merely omits the reference to an 
alleged fact of no special interest to the Israelites at the time, and 
which science utterly disproves, but with evident suitableness to 
existing circumstances, represents the Sabbath as instituted in com- 
memoration of their recent deliverance from Egyptian taskmasters. 
'* T?hu s a discrepancy, which has at all times been a source of per- 
plexity to theologians, is found at last to be the means of delivering 
the Fourth Commandment, if not the whole of the Decalogue, or 
even the Jewish Law, in all its departments, from what in other 
circumstances have seemed a fatal objection to its Divine authority; 
" The impossibility of giving any rational account of the difference' 
between the two editions of the* Commandments, on the supposition 
that both are genuine, and thait a reason was annexed to the precept 
as written on the tables of stone, may be seen from Bishop Watson's*- 



42 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



attempt, in his Apology for the Bible, to obviate the difficulty. 
Speaking- of the Sabbath, he says, ■ As for there being two reasons 
given for its being kept holy — one that on that day God rested from 
the work of creation ; the other, that on that day that God had 
given them rest from the servitude of Egypt — I see no contradiction 
in the accounts. If a man, in writing the history of England, should 
inform his readers that the Parliament had ordered the 5th of 
November to be kept holy because, on that day, God had delivered 
the nation from a bloody-intended massacre by gunpowder ; and if, 
in another part of his history, he should assign the deliverance of 
our Church and nation from Popery and arbitrary power by the 
arrival of King William as a reason for its being kept holy, would 
any one contend that he was not justified in both of these ways of 
expression, or that we ought to from thence conclude that he was 
not the author of them both.' 

" One may imagine, without much difficulty, the smile which must 
have played upon the sharp features of Tom Paine when he read 
this portion of Watson's answer to his ■ Age of Reason,' since, by 
evading the real difficulty, the bishop here virtually confesses his 
inability to meet it. For the question is not one about the difference 
between the two ' accounts ' merely (though, even as he puts it, the 
case is but lamely handled by him), but about a discrepancy between 
two copies of a law which was written on a table of stone. A true 
historical parallel would have been the supposition, that a writer of 
English history had, in one part of his work given a copy of an Act 
of Parliament passed immediately after the discovery of the Gun- 
powder Plot, ordaining the 5 th of November to be kept holy for the 
express and sole reason that God had delivered the nation from a 
bloody-intended massacre ; and in another part of his history had 
given a second copy of the same Act, in which was assigned not this 
reason, but the allegation that, on the 5th of November an old 
British king, who lived about the tiim* of the Trojan war, had 
finished the great Druid ical temple of Stonehenge, and ordained, in 
commemoration of this event, the day should be observed as a 
festival for ever. In such a case everybody would have seen in a 
moment that both copies of the statute of James I. could not be the 
genuine Act of Parliament, and that the copy in which the Gun- 
powder Plot was mentioned was much the more likely to be so. 
Baxter, with all his ingenuity, makes an equally deplorable figure. 
In answer to the question, ' Why doth Deut. v. repeat the Fourth 
Commandment in so different words ? ' he has nothing better to say 
than ' Because the words are but for the sense, and they being kept 
in the Ark as written in stone and safe from alteration, Moses in 
Deut. v. gave them the sense, and added some of his own explica- 
tion.' (Works, Vol. xix. p. 186.) Would a similar explanation 
satisfy any reader of the supposed history of England ? Would the 
theory be for a moment listened to that the Act of Parliament, 
being kept among the public records, and safe from alteration, the 
historian gave the sense of it, and added some of his own explica- 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 43 

tion, without altering anything- to obscure the sense ? In the 
modern case supposed, an appeal might be made to the records of 
Parliament, and the question b3 determined whether the Gunpowder 
Plot or the completion of the temple of Stonehenge was the real 
origin of the festival : but how can Baxter, or how can we, who 
have no access to the tables on which the Decalogue was inscribed, 
discover that the words in the Exodus edition of the Command- 
ments, and not those in the Deuteronomy edition, were those which 
were ' written in stone ? ' " 

Although we do not know that wheu Tom Paine read the bishop's 
reply to his " Age of Reason," a smile played upon his (Tom Paine's) 
sharp features ; but what we do know, however, is, that when we 
read " the true historical parallel " of Mr. Cox, we could not restrain 
the smile that forced itself and found expression by provoking in us 
a hearty laugh. How can Mr. Cox give us a true historical parallel 
when he fails to grasp the question he wishes fco illustrate ? A more 
correct parallel would be to suppose that on a certain 5th of 
November a British king, in the time of the Trojan war, had 
finished the great Druidical Temple at Stonehenge, and ordained, in 
commemoration of this event, that that day should be kept as a 
festival for ever; that during this king's reign, the festival was 
kept, but owing to the incursions of the R:mans, Danes, Picts, Scots, 
Saxons, and Normans, the festival became obsolete (but that the 
temple still stood as a memorial of that event). When, on a certain 
6th of November, in the reign of James I., his Parliament was 
miraculously delivered from a bloody massacre by the discovery of 
the Gunpowder Plot ; that he revived the old festival by an Act of 
Parliament, and ordained that that festival should be binding upon 
all his subjects, of whatever tribal distinction they may be, in com- 
memoration of the completion of the great Druidical temple. And 
at the same time making a special Act ordaining that all those 
ministers who had escaped this bloody intended massacre should 
assemble upon the anniversary of that day for special thanksgiving 
to Almighty God for their miraculous deliverance. 

This is far nearer the truth than " the true historical parallel " of 
Mr. Cox. We do not claim, as he has done, that the parallel is the 
truth. Far from it, for the simple reason that no illustration can 
prove a truth, they only assist us to understand the truth ; but the 
chances are that illustrations are pressed into service with the specific 
purpose of dressing up a glaring falsehood in the garb of truth, and 
therefore it is safer to look upon all M true parallels " with a certain 
amount of distrust. Truth, pure and simple, requires no assistance 



44 THE TWO DECALOGUES, 



to .illustrate it. All we. want is a perfect knowledge of the facts 
that surround the truth, and when we are in possession of these, we 
have the truth. Tom Paine, Baxter, Bisbop Watson, Charles Voysey, 
late Archbishop of Canterbury, Earl Dunraven, and Mr. Cox have 
never been in possession of the facts of the cise, and therefore are 
not in a position even to venture an opinion, 

The Mystery Solved* 
-v ■ ■_ - * 

In ortfer that we may solve the mystery, it is absolutely necessary 
that we should be in possession of the positive as well as the negative. 
The two codes of the Dacalogues are a series of negations — T/htou 
shalt not do this or that. Inman says, in his " Ancient Faiths 
Embodied in Ancient Names," Vol. II., p. 666, - a That the so-called 
moral law was not applicable to private property So much as to the 
relations of man to man. It is, perhaps, the^ very rudest code of 
political penal statutes known** 1 Now, as a matter of fact, there is 
not one penal clause in either of the Decalogues ; and in this they 
both stand out as the most unique and sublime that has come down 
to us from the hoary age of antiquity. And before we can judge of 
their crudeness, we must see some other code, so polished (that has 
come down to us), that so completely throws these in the shade ; for 
until Dr. Inman can marshal out a more sublime code than these 
Decalogues, ^very honest critic must admit that they stand un- 
rivalled : and when we put ourselves in possession of both sides of the 
question, what have appeared discrepancies and contradictions, will 
be found not to be so, but in complete harmony with true science and 
revealed truth, and will for ever stamp the two codes of the Deca 4 - 
logue as £ The Words-of <*od.'' 

In order that we may arrive at the truth, it is necessary, then, thai? 
we should refer to the ft>cts for the positive side that are chronicled 
upon th£ Egyptian monuments and in the page of Holy Writ. 
Egypt, under the premiership of Joseph, became the metropolis of 
the world. Her princes (like Esau) had sold their birthrights and 
lands to Joseph for corn, hence the Pharaohs of Joseph's time ha?d 
no rival ; for, having posses -ed himself through Joseph's diplomacy 
(Gen. xlvii. 20) of the land, together with the Egyptian princes! 
right of government over the land, his authority was supreme. 
Pharaohism became the established religion. The title Phaxaoh 
was the name borne by the earliest Egyptian kings. The personal 
name is sometimes, added in th& Scriptures, as in Pharaoh- Hophra 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 4& 

and Pharaoh-Necho. Egyptologists are not at all agreed as tc its 
etymology. In the Coptic, which is the representative of the old 
Egyptian, the word for king is uro or erro, which, with the Egyptian 
article pe or phe prefixed, is supposed by some to give us its ety- 
mology. Professor Lauth, of Munich, and Mariette Bey explain 
that the name Pharaoh, from the monumental title Per-aa, which, 
although literally denoting no more than " the great house " or 
* palace," is constantly employed on the inscriptions to designate, by 
an easy metonymy, the person of the sovereign himself, in the same 
way as we speak of the Court, meaning the Queen, etc. ; M. Chabas, 
however, and other Egyptologists assert that the word Pharaoh is 
nothing else than the Royal title Ra, "sun" or "sun -god," which 
was always borne by the Egyptian kings, who were regarded as the 
living representative of that divinity upon earth, to which the 
Egyptian article phe has been prefixed. "It is certain" (says the 
writer in Cassell's Bible Dictionary, art. Pharaoh) " that in the Lee 
papyrus and others this royal title Phe-ra ■ the sun * or * sun-god 
fls employed throughout in speaking of the kings of Egypt exactly 
like the word Pharaoh in the Bible." While we fully endorse the 
views of Professor Lauth, and also M. Chabas (although they appear 
to differ), yet we think that the title was something more than fcp 
denote the representative of that luminary upon earth, as M. Chabas 
be^eves, or that it t supply denoted the 'great house" or palace, 
according to Professor JLauth and Mariette ^ey. t The title Plie-rp, 
is undoubtedly " the. sun " or " s^n-god," and the monumental title 
Per-aa denotes the "great house " or "palace," the residence of the 
i Phe-ra, the " sun-god," the god who had taken up his residence in the 
sun; but furthermore, it implied that he who bore that title was the 
firstborn of the first progenitor God, for no idea existed that Q-od 
^created man, but that God begat the man; that the ; first mati.was'a 
god, who had a sovereign right to rule the earth by virtue of being 
the first man, and that this sovereign right was bequeathed to the 
firstborn. The title Pharaoh, then, was the greatest title a man 
could possess, and it is strictly synonymous with Messiah — " the 
begotten Son of G-od," son of the " I Am that I Am," i.e. ' there is 
no other beside me" " and no other before me." 

Moses, who had been a Pharaonic priest, betrays this Pharaohism 
in Deut. xxxii. 18, " Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, 
and hast forsaken God that formed thee"; Isaiah li. 1-2 " Ye that 
seek the Lord : look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the 
'hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your 



46 THE TWO DECALOGUES 



father, and unto Sarah who bare you." The oath of Joseph, i.e. "by 
the life of Pharoah," is pure Pharaohism, and is the acknowledgment 
that Pharoah was the greatest, and he could sware by no greater. 

Mr. Bryant ( M Ancient Mythology," Vol. II., p. 233) says :— " In the 
ancient mythology of Egypt there were precisely eight gods. Of 
these the sun was the chief, and was first said to have reigned. 
Diodor. Sicul. L. 1 p. 12." That uhe sun was associated with the 
idea of Father or First Caus^ is clear from the ready way that the 
members of Jacob's family understood Joseph's dream (sun, moon 
and stars). It was not the sun, however, which first reigned in 
Egypt, but it was the first Egyptian king who was supposed to have 
taken up his residence in the sun, hence arose the adorations paid to 
that luminary. In Job xxxi. 26-28 we read, "If I beheld the sun 
when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart 
hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand : This 
also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge ; for I should have 
denied the God that is above." Many mythologists have followed 
Diodor us Siculus, who, writing of the Egyptians, says : — " That the 
first men, looking up to the world above them, and struck with 
admiration of the nature of the universe, supposed the sun and the 
moon to be the principal and eternal gods." The adoration paid to 
these luminaries would have been harmless if it had been nothing 
more than worshipping the sun and moon as eternal deities. The 
sin was not so much in worshipping the sun and the moon as the 
sun and the moon, but it was worshipping the first progenitors who 
had taken up their residence in the sun and moon ; it was the adora- 
tion of Osiris in the sun, and Isis in the moon in Egypt, and Baal, 
" the lord " in Caanan. It was this belief that gave rise to all the 
mythological beliefs of the ancient world. Patriarchs and princes 
were supposed to inhabit the stars, and it became a universal belief; 
and in order to react the understanding of those who had been 
brought up in these myths, the sacred writers have been compelled 
by the force of circumstances to appear to lend support to the 
popular belief ; hence we have in Gen. xv. 5, "Look now towards 
heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them : and he 
said unto him, So shall thy seed be " — thy seed shall be a multitude 
of stars, i.e. princes inhabiting the stars. " I shall see him, but not 
now : I shall behold him, but not nigh : there shall come a * Star ' 
out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel," Num. xxiv. 17. 
" And he that overcom eth, and keepeth my works unto the end, to 
him will I give power over the nations . . ." " And I will give him the 



THE TV/0 DECALOGUES. 47 

morning star," Rev. ii. 26-28. " I Jesus have sent mine angel to 
testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and 
the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star," Rev. xx. 
16. "The seven stars are the angels (presbyters) of the seven 
churches," Rev. i. 21. In the mythology of the Apocalypse the 
greatest reward held out was to inhabit a star, hence to reach them 
in their own mythology, the writer says, by way of encouragement, 
" He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end .... I 
will give him the morning star." It will be seen that it was not so 
much the sun, moon, and stars that were worshipped, but those pro- 
genitor gods who were supposed to inhabit them. And while there 
was remission by shedding the blood of the firstlings of the flock 
(which had been the objects of worship among the idolatrous 
Israelites), yet oceans of blood shed would not wash away the sin of 
worshipping the sun, moon, and stars. The punishment was death 
by stoning, and this was absolutely necessary to prevent them 
making their sons and their daughters pass through the fire. The 
sacred bull (so-called, for there was nothing sacred in Egypt), with 
the sun between his horns, that we have in the British Museum, and 
represented in ail our Bible Dictionaries and in the works of the 
Egyptian mythologists (a fine engraving is to be seen in Bryant's 
"Ancient Mythology," Vol. II., p. 121), simply represents the first 
man who took up his abode in the sun as a war god, hence the 
strength of the bull was ascribed to him ; thus, in response to the 
idolatrous cry, " Make us gods to go before us " (Ex. xxxii. 1), the 
golden calf was made. That the sun was placed between his horns 
is conclusive. " These be thy gods (plural), Israel, which brought 
thee up out of the land of Egypt (the sun represented between the 
horns the one, the calf the other). And when Aaron saw it, he 
built an altar before it ; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, 
To-morrow is a feast to the Lord " (Ex. xxxii. 4-5), not a feast to the 
Lord your God (Ex. xvi. 12), but a feast to the Lord, who was wor- 
shipped as a war god under the form of a bull, with the sun between 
his horns. This is brought out very clearly by the circumstantial 
evidence ; for after Aaron had made the golden calf, he built an 
altar before it, and we are told that " they rose up early on the 
morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings ; 
and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play," Ex. 
xxxii. 6. Their rising up to play after the feast was not play in the 
sense we understand the word, but literally a stand-up fight among 
the strongest to decide which should be their warrior god to go before 



48 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 

them to fight their battles as the representative of the great war god 
which they had represented under the form of a calf. The Hebrew 
word for play is zacbak, and it is also used in 2 Sam. ii. 14, " Let tho 
young men now arise and M play " before us . . . and there was a sore 
battle that day." The golden calves set up in Dan and in Bethel 
must have had the sun between their horns, because the prophet Amos 
states that they swore by the sin of Samaria. " Thy god, O Dan, 
liveth," Amos viii. 14. Dr. Moore, in his " Pillar Stones of Scotland," 
p. 135, writes: — 

" If they only meant that Dan as a people swore in self dedication 
that the true God lived and was theirs, where the sin ? they could only 
have applied these words in an idolatrous sense. If their use in this 
manner were a sin, then the words would signify that they wor- 
shipped and called upon their ancestor Dan as their living god. 
Thus Dan was their baal or lord whom they worshipped when they 
set up the golden calf in the city of Dan and at Bethel. They 
invoked his aid as their patron deity, whose name they gave to their 
chief city, and to whom they devoted their prowess and their li^e 

as if he were their god." 

■ ■ • i ' 

There is a very great deal of truth, in this. The calves set up in 
Pan and Bethel did not, .however, represent any particular prince or 
patriarch who had been deified by his , people, but it represented a 
universal belief, hence it was not confined to the city of Dan. T&e 
language of the prophet is not " Thy god, Dan liveth," as quoted by 
Pr. Moore, but " Thy god, Dan, liveth." Now the god of the 
Danites was represented by the calf with the sun between his horns, 
which they had set up and ascribed to it deliverance from Egyptian 
bondage. " These be thy gods {i.e. the first man who had taken up 
his residence in the sun) which brought thee up out of the land of 
Egypt." These idolaters represented and worshipped this progenitor 
deity under different names and titles. .When tl\ey wanted. to show 
his marvellous powers of productiveness they represented him a6 a 
compound, the upper part of a man, and below the figure of a fish. 
He then bore the title of Dag- on, Said- on, Sidon, Saida, for both Dag 
and Said signifies in the language of Svria and Palestine a fish or a 
god. Faust, in his Hebrew Lexicon, observes " That the Phoenician 
Saturn or Be-tagon is no other than Dagon, who was probably the 
god of increase or productiveness." The Diana of the Ephesians, 
which was supposed to be a deification of the moon, simply repre- 
sented the Queen of the first man who had taken up her residence 
in the moon as " the Queen of heaven." This.deity is represented in 
some monuments as having many breasts, and in others the body of a 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. ^ *»• ; . 49' 



fish ; some nations make the sun a male deity, and others the female- 
deity. With the Babylonians and Assyrians the sun is feminine, and 
is called in the "Western Asiatic Inscriptions," IV., 32-50, "the 
divine mistress of the world." (See also " Records of the Past,'* 
VII., p. 157 v ) The Egyptian, however, make the sun the male deity. 
The ram-headed, cat-headed, hawk- headed, cow-headed, lion- 
headed, snake-headed, and crocodile-headed deities were simply a 
personification (according to Champollion-Figeac) of the attributes 
of their great Ammon-ra, who, he thinks, was the eternal deity; an<| 
Would have us believe that the Egyptian religion was a sublime* 
symbolisation of a great truth; that it was a pure monotheism, 
manifesting itself externally by a symbolical polytheism; that the 
Egyptians had elevated themselves by their reflection and long, 
observance of nature to the idea of the unity of God, of the immor- 
tality of the soul, and of a future state of rewards and punishments: 
As to whether all these many-headed deities were simply the per- 
sonification of the attributes of the one eternal deity we cannot say 
for certain, because both patriarchs and princes alike were deified ; 
and we may safely infer that the blessings pronounced by Jacob 
upon his twelve sons would have been personified according to 
Egyptian custom by their descendants. Judah in that case woulcl 
have been represented with the head of a lion, Joseph the head of a 
bullock, Benjamin a wolf, etc. That they had the one supreme 
deity there cannot be the slightest doubt. Their profound regard *for 
the firstborn, who claimed his descent direct from this, deity, places it 
beyond the shadow of a doubt ; and the fact that the Pharaohs and 
the early kings did not designate their wives queens, but princesses, 
would go to show that they believed only in one queen — the queen 
of heaven— and consequently only one king or father-god, KinJ* of 
heaven. The reigning king would be " the son of God," therefore 
a/ prince and his wife a princess. - •, 

-, How this first; man and woman were made they had not the 
slightest conception. The classics, however, make out to their own 
satisfaction that the Egyptians believed in the eternity of matter, 
and from that man was evolved. But the Egyptians say nothing 1 
about it themselves, for there is no Egyptian cosmogony. In this 
respect they were atheistical, and as such cosmogony was a negation; 
They knew nothing, and therefore asserted nothing respecting it* 
The firstborn of man and beast was worshipped, and also the first- 
f suits, which were gathered from the " sacred trees of life." Th« 
worship of "the firstborn of man i and beast was- the developments f 

E 



50 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



Pharaohism, and became universal. Every firstborn was worshipped 
as a pro-creator. The penis or genital organ was worshipped as the 
emblem of life. 

Dr. Kitto, "Cyclopaedia of Biblical Knowledge," art. "Oath,'* 
writes as follows : — 

"Another primitive custom which obtained in the patriarchal age 
was that the one who took the oath put his hand under the thigh of 
the adjurer (Gen. xxvi. 2, xlviL 29). This practice evidently arose 
from the fact that the genital member, which is meant by the 
euphemic expression ' thigh,' was regarded as the most sacred part 
of the body, being the symbol of union in the tenderest relations of 
matrimonial life, and the seat whence all issue proceeds, and the 
perpetuity so much coveted by the ancients (Gen. xlvi. 26, Ex. i. 5, 
Judges viii. 30). Hence the creative organ became the symbol of 
the creator, and the object of worship among all nations of antiquity. 
(Compare Ezek. xvi. 17 ; St. Jerome, comment on Hosea iv. ; 4 Nork 
Etymologisch Symbolisch Mythologisches Real Worterbauch, s. v. 
Phalluscultus ' ; 4 Pauly Real Encyclopodai d. Classischen Alterthume- 
wisenschaf t s. v. Phallus.') And it is for this reason that God claimed 
it as the sign of the covenant between Himself and His chosen 
people in the rite of circumcision. Nothing, therefore, could render 
the oath more solemn in those days than touching the symbol of 
creation, the sign of the covenant, and the source of that issue 
who may at any future period avenge the breaking of a compact 
made with their progenitor." 

It was customary on the day dedicated to the prince to erect his 
idol or penis stone. His people would assemble there for adoration and 
worship, and also for taking the oaths or covenants entered into 
between them. The twelve pillar stones erected at Gilgal, which 
represented the i welve tribal princes, would have been converted to 
this purpose, but " Thou shalt not raise a tool upon it " prevented it. 
The pillar stone erected by Jacob, when he anointed it with oil, was 
intended to represent the penis of the Deity — God's penis stone, 
hence the solemn covenant made by Jacob ; however it was never put 
to that purpose, for it afterwards became Jacob's beth or prince's 
throne. The prophet Jeremiah declaims against these idol stones : 
44 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel 
ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and 
their prophets, saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a 
stone, Thou hast brought me forth : for they have turned their back 
unto me, and not their face : but in the time of their trouble they 
will say, Arise and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast 
made thee ? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 51 

trouble : for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O 
Judab," Jeremiah ii. 26-28. 

The phallic stone in every city would represent the penis of the 
founders or princes who ruled over them. The worship and. adora- 
tion of these stones were of the most horrid, and disgusting nature. 
Ezekiel xvi. 17-25 refers to it as follows : — " Thou hast also taken thy 
fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given theft 
and madest to thyself images of a male, and didst commit whoredom 
with them. And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst 
them : and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. 
My meat also, which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, 
wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet 
savour : and thus it was, saith the Lord G-od. . . . Thou hast also built 
thee a a brothel house, and hast made thee an high place in every 
Btreet. Thou hast built thy " high places " at every head of the way, 
and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and has opened thy feet to 
every one that passed by, and multiplied, thy whoredoms." 

Herodotus, ii. 64, confirms Ezekiel's description of this horrid 
worship in the " high places," and supplies the following as a reason : 

" All other nations without scruple connect themselves with 
women in their temples, nor think it necessary to wash themselves 
after such connection previous to their paying their devotions. In 
this instance they rank man indiscriminately with other animals; 
for observing that birds as well as beasts copulate in the shrine and 
temples, they conclude that it cannot be offensive to the deity. 
Such a mode of reasoning does not by any means obtain my appro- 
bation." 

Mention is made in Athenaeus of a phallus, carried in a Bacchanal 
procession, of gold, and 120 cubits long. It was, moreover, adorned 
with garlands, which were twined around to its vertex, where 
was a golden star, six cubits in circumference. (See Athenseus. 
Book v. c. 5.) 

" Next by the sacred hill their oars impel 
Firm Argo, where the Mossyraecians dwell: 
Of manners strange, for they with care conceal 
Those deeds which others openly reveal, 
And actions that in secret should be done, 
Performed in public and before the sun ; 
For like the monsters of the bristly drove, 
In public they perform their feats of love." 

Faivke's Apollonius Rhod. 

Moses himself was not guiltless of worshipping the phallus of his 
firstborn, for in Ex. iv. 24-26 we read, " And it came to pass by the 

e2 



>. J 



62 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. 
Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her 
son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou 
to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art* 
because of the circumcision." These idol stones are to be found in 
all parte of the world.- The round towers of Ireland were the 
objects of worship before the introduction^ of Christianity. There 
is a king's phalli stone on the hill of Tarah, county Meath. Tl^ere 
are two in the British Museum. They were converted by the 
Romans when they came here into milestones. One bears the 
name of Hadrian, and was originally set up eight miles from the 
Roman station Kanovium, a.d. 121 ; the other bears. the names 1 of the 
Emperor Septimus Sever us and his son Caracalla, a.d. 19&. They 
were found at Rhiwan, Llanfairf echan, county Caeronarvon. The in- 
troduction of sun worship into the Roman Empire (a.d. 219) was 
under the form of a black conical stone, which was believed to 
have fallen from heaven on the sacred spot of Emesa. A magnificent- 
temple was raised on the Palatine Mount. Around the altar a chorus 
of Syrian damsels performed their lascivious dances to the sound of 
barbaric music. The moon, adored by the Africans under the name 
of Astarte, was deemed a suitable companion for the sun. Her 
image, with the rich offerings of her temple as a marriage portion, 
was transported from Carthage to Rome; and the day of these 
mystic nuptials was a general festival in the capital and throughout 
the Empire. (Gibbon's " Decline and Fall," Vol. U p. 281) 

The worship of Baal was likewise the worship of " the man in the 
sun " as their lord, master, owner, and possessor. The marriage of 
Ahab with a Zidonian princess introduced the worship into Israel. 
He built a temple of Baal in Samaria, and erected an altar in it 
(1 Kings xvi. 31-32). When Elijah met the prophets of Baal on 
Mount Carmel, to decide the question of which was the true God, 
there were four hundred and fifty present ; and Elijah came unto all 
the people and said, " How long halt ye between two opinions ? if the 

Lord be God, follow him : but if Baal, then follow him And 

they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, 
and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, say- 
ing, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. 
And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to 
pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he 
is a god ; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or peradventure he 
6leepeth, and must be awaked Elijah the prophet came near, 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 53 

and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known 
this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and 
that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, 
hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God» 
and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of 
the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and 
the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the 
trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces : 
and they sail, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God," 
1 Kings xviii. 26-39. And in this way Elijah demonstrated the fact 
that he had just previously stated to Obadiah, that the God of Israel 
was the Lord of hosts, i.e. the Lord of those who were supposed to 
have their abode in the sun, moon, and stars. 

Having stated the positive side of the case, we will now pass on to 
show the complete overthrow of Pharaohism and Baalism on the 
one hand, and the rise, progress, and final establishment of 
Javahism by the giving of the Decalogues on the other hand. 

The inspired penman commences the history of Javahism by 
boldly stating that " In the beginning God created the heaven and 
the earth," that the same Elohim called into existence the whole 
creation — sun, moon, and stars, and animal and plant life, and that 
these Gods made man in their own image, and breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of life (let us make man); that man, after eating 
of the forbidden fruit, was expelled out of the garden ; that this 
Javah had respect unto the offering up of the firstlings, and that 
the firstborn Cain was a murderer ; that his descendants (together 
with the sons of God who had been driven out of the garden) were 
drowned in the Flood ; that no firstborn of the first man existed, 
they all having perished through their wickedness ; that Noah, how- 
ever, and his sons and daughters alone were saved, although they 
were not the firstborn; that they were scattered by a confusion 
of tongues ; that the Egyptians were descended from the younger 
son of Noah, therefore could have no claim to be the firstborn ; that 
Abraham's seed could lay the greatest claim, since he was the first- 
born, and that by virtue of being in a direct line from Noah's firstborn 
— Shem ; that if there was to be a firstborn, then " Israel is my 
(Javah's) firstborn," and as such was chosen to overthrow 
Pharaohism and Baalism, and to establish Javahism, in order that 
»* all the families of the earth should be blessed." 

It would appear at first sight that the sacred writer had written 
this history in Egypt with the specific purpose of overthrowing 



54 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 

Pharaohism, and doubtless many sceptics will say so ; however, the 
subsequent history will clearly prove that it was not so. Job, who 
lived in the pre-Noahic age, clearly understood the question, and 
asks sarcastically, ' ' Hath the rain a father ? or who hath begotten 
the drops of dew ? Out of whose womb came the ice ? and the 
hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it ? " Job xxxviii. 27-28. 
There is a complete harmony in the cosmogony of Genesis and Job. 
They both refer it to the same Creator, and no one would venture to 
say that the same writer penned them, or that the one was a mere 
copy of the other. 

Abraham is commanded by God to leave his country, his kindred, 
and his father's hou^e. He obeys, and leaves Haran, and travels on 
to Canaan. When there the Lord appears unto him, and says, 
" Unto thy seed will I give this land." A famine, however, sends 
him into Egypt. After a little while he returns to Canaan, and God 
renews his promise : " Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the 
place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and 
westward : For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, 
and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of 
the earth : so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then 
shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the 
length of it and in the breadth of ( it; for i'will give it unto thee," 
Gen. xiii. 14-17. A further revelation accompanied the promise, 
which 1 was given in a' remarkable vision, 1 the outcome -i of which a" 
covenant Was made : • ! « ''-•» • ■•' r v 

M "Fear not, 'Abram : J- am thy shield, and' thy exceeding great 
reward. And x Abram said, Lord God, .>vhat wilt thou v give me, 
seeing I, go childless, and, , the steward of my: house is thjs ^Uiezer 
o| jhaniascus ?. And Abrani said, Behold, to me thou hast given 
no seed: audi lo, one born' in my house is mine heir. And; 
behold, the word of the Lord came iintd him; saying, This shaftl hot 
be thine heir; but hb that stlall come forth out' of thine >6wn bowels 
shall be \ thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, 
Look, nqw towards heaven, and tell the stars, if thou,, be able to 
number them : and he said unto him, So shall* thy seed be. ! And he 
believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. 
And he said unt^o 'him, I am the Lord that brought thee 6ut 'of x \fi 
of the Chaldees, to give thee this lnnd to , inherit it. . Arid! he said, 
Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it ? And' he 
said, unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a .she 
goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle- 
dove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto' him all these, and 
divided tJ^em in the midst, and laid each piece one against another : 
but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 55 



thp carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going 
down, a deep sleep fell npon Abram ; and. lo, an horror of great 
darkness fell upon him. And he said uuto Abram, Know of a surety 
that thy seed shall be a s transfer in a land that is not their's, and shall 
serve them ; and they shall afflict them four hundred years ; And also 
that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge : and afterwards shall 
they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers 
in peace ; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth 
generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the 
Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun 
went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burn- 
ing lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the 
Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I 
given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the 
river Euphrates : The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmo- 
nites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And 
the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the 
Jebusites," Gen. xv. 

Here we have the first covenant made by " the most High God " 
to Abram. The covenant, however, is not made in the usual form, 
which required both the covenanters to pass between the pieces, the 
meaning of which would be " Let it be done so to me (i.e. cut in 
twain) if I do not fulfil the covenant " (see Jer. xxxiv. 18). The 
reason is obvious. Abraham had fulfilled his part by leaving his 
father's house and kindred, .therefore, Inhere was no necessity for him 
to passjbetween the. pieces, the presence _of Jehovah as manifested 
in " tjie smoking furnace and the burning lamp " being quite 
sufficient, and fully satisfied' Abraham's 'query, "Whereby snail I 
know that I shall inherit it ? " It will be seen from the wording of 
this covenant that it cuts at the very root of Pharaohism. The 
ADrahamic seed was to be in bondage in Egypt, and that God had 
undertaken to judge thai' nation tnafc should afflict them', and^bring 
up out of bondage with great substance. Now let us see how the 
whole thing was accomplished. 

When this covenant was made Abraham was childless, for Saran 
bare him no children, an'd Saran said unto Abram,' " Beholdnow trie 
Lord hath restrained me from bearing : I pray thee, go in unto my 
maid ; it may be tnat I may obtain children by her. And Abram 
hearkened to the voice of Sarai . . . And Hagar [the Egyptian] bare 
Abraham a son: And Abram called his son's name, whicn Hagar 
bare, Ishmael," Gen. xvi. 2-15. Now another important covenant is 
entered into, designed to overthrow the horrid phalli worship:— 

"And when Abram was, ninety years old and nine, the Lord 
appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; 



56 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant 
between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram 
fell on his face : and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold 
my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name 
shall be Abraham ; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of 
thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my 
covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their 
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and 
to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed 
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of 
Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God. And 
God said unto Abraham, Thou she It keep my covenant, therefore, thou, 
and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant which 
ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee ; Every 
man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise 
the flesh of your loreskin ; and it shall be a token of the covenant 
betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circum- 
cised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is 
born in the house, or bought with money of any sti anger, which is 
not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and be that is bought 
with thy money, must needs be circumcised ; and my covenant shall 
be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised 
man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul 
shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. 
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not 
call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless 
her, and give thee a son also of her; yea, I will bless her, and she 
shall be a mother of nations ; kings of people shall be of her. Then 
Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall 
a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old ? and shall 
Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear ? And Abraham said unto God, 
O that Ishmael might live before thee 1 And God said, Sarah thy 
wife shall bear thee a son indeed : and thou shalt call his name 
Isaac ; and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting 
covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have 
heard thee : Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, 
and will multiply him exceedingly ; twelve princes shall he beget, 
and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I estab- 
lish with Isaac which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in 
the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up 
from Abraham. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that 
were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, 
every male among the men of Abraham's house ; and circumcised 
the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto 
him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was 
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was 
thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his fore- 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 51 



skin. In, the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael, 
his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought 
with money of the 6tranger, were circumcised with him.'* 

The object of this second covenant is clear and unmistakeable. 
That this emblem of life was worshipped is beyond the possibility of 
a doubt. Manetho, quoted by Wilkinson, " Manners of the Ancient) 
Egyptians," Vol, L„ p. 20, says.:— , . 

Sesostris conquered all Asia in nine years, and Europe as far as 
Thrace, everywhere^ erecting monuments of his conquests over those 
nations. Among the people who had acted bravely he set up 
memorials of a phallic nature, but among the degenerate female 
emblems engraved on stellac. He is considered by the Egyptians to 
be the first after Osiris." . . 

Wilkinson, however, asserts that the rite of circumcision was 
practised by the Egyptian priests, and that Joshua v. 9, "This day 
have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you," to mean that 
it was a reproach in Egypt not to be circumcised. The reproach 
that Joshua had rolled away was the putting an end to that horrid 
worship which the Israelites had been compelled to submit to by 
those who had been put in authority over them in Egypt; the altar 
being erected with unhewn stones, and all the males circumcised, was 
to teach them that they were not their own creator, and that they 
had not made themselves, and these were the means used by Joshua 
to roll away this reproach. The cutting of the foreskin prevented that 
emblem from ever becoming an object of worship precisely in the 
same way as the slightest spot or blemish in the firstborn of both 
man and beast prevented their deification. It is to this fact that the 
ancient sculptors spent their lives in chiselling out a " perfect God." 

The promise that Sarah should have a son, and that God should 
"establish his covenant with Isaac in opposition to the wish of Abra- 
ham, who prayed " that Ishmael [the firstborn] might live before 
thee " was also designed by God to overthrown Pharaohism ; for if 
Abraham had had his wish, and Ishmael had received the blessing, 
Pharaohism in Egypt would have been overthrown by another 
Pharaoh, and that in the person of Abraham himself; for he, as 
the founder of the nation, would have been deified, as all the other 
founders were by their descendants. When, however, the blessing 
descended upon the head of Isaac, who was not the firstborn, it was 
an impossibility to deify him. Isaac could not claim (as the 
Pharaohs of Egypt did) to be "the son of the sun," whereas Ishmael 
could have done so if he had received the birthright blessing ; this, 
however, being withheld and given to the younger, prevented the 



58 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



one or the other of the two sons of Abraham claiming to be" the 
§on" in the sense of having a risrht to claim the title which belong < i 
only to the firstborn son of Abraham; therefore it prevented their 
possibility of deifying Abraham. Ishmael, not receiving the 
birthright, it prevented his deification for the same reason ; and 
it prevented Isaac, for although he had the blessing, yet he was not 
the firstborn. Isaac marries, and his wife Rebekah gives birth to 
twins ; however, before they are born, " The Lord said nnto her, Two 
nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated 
from thy bowels ; and the one people shall be stronger than the 
other people, and the elder shall serve the younger." Here, again, 
we see the preference for the younger even before they were born. 
The birthright, although dead against the father's wish, falls to 
the lot of Jacob the younger, thereby preventing the deification of 
Israel and his two sons, precisely as the same like circumstances 
had prevented the deification of Abraham and his two sons. Jacob, 
in his turn, becomes the father of twelve sons and one daughter, 
tfoseph, his beloved, is sold to Ishmaelites by his brethren, and is 
carried down into Egypt, and there becomes the leading statesman, 
exalting his royal master to the zenith of power and glory, and 
Egypt to the metropolis of the world. Jacob, through a famine, 
sends to Egypt for corn; Joseph receives his brethren, and the 
result is that Jacob and his family find a home in the land of 
Goschen. Jacob blessed, and full of years, calls for Joseph's two sons, 

" And he brought them near unto him, and he kissed them, and 
embraced them, and Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to 
have seen thy face, and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed. And 
Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed 
himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, 
Ephraim in his right hand toward 's Israel's left hand, and Manasseh 
in his left hand towards Israel's right hand, and brought them near 
unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on 
Ephrainrs head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon 
Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was the 
firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my 
fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my 
life long unto this day, The Angel, which redeemed me from ail 
evil, bless the lads ; and let my name be named on them, and the 
name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a 
multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that 
his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased 
him : and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephrainrs 
head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not 
so, my father : for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 69 



head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know 
it : he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great : but 
truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and bis seed shall 
become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, say- 
ing, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and 
as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel 
said unto Joseph, Behold, I die : but God shall be wifch you, and 
bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have 
given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of 
the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow." 



Jacob, whose name had been changed to that of Israel — a prince 
with clearer light as to the purposes of God than Abraham or Isaac 
— pronounced the blessing (in opposition to the wish of Joseph, who 
had been brought up in Pharaohism) upon the head of the younger, 
knowing full well what he was doing when he guided his hands 
wittingly. And when he calls his twelve sons, iD order to give them 
their tribal blessings, he passes over Reuben the firstborn. The 
birthright of Reuben is divided ; the Sceptre is given to Judah — 
u The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from 
between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and ur>fco him shall the gather- 
ing of the people be " ; but the birthright, minus the Sceptre, is 
given to Joseph. "■ Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough 
by a well ; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have 
sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow 
abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by 
the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the 
shepherd, the stone of Israel :) Even by the God of thy father, who 
shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with 
blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, 
blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy 
father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto 
the utmost bound of the everlasting hills ; they shall be on the head 
of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate 
from his brethren," Gen. xlix. 22-26. 

It will be seen that this completely prevented the deification of 
the firstborn, and introduced the phrase, " the God of Abraham, the 
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," as showing that Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob were not gods, and could not possibly become so. 
and at the same time prevented either Reuben, Judah, or Joseph 
usurping the title of " the son of God," and it gave rise to the belief 
of the coming Messiah, who was " the only begotten Son of God," 



60 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 

and that when he came the divided birthright would be united, and 
11 given to him whose right it was," Ezek. xxx. 17. 

Here, then, we have the establishment of a nation, although ir> 
bondage, believing in Javahism, " the most High G-od,"and the coming 
Messiah, who was " the only begotten Son of God," as opposed to 
Pharaohism, which asserted that the Messiah was then reig.iing in the 
person of Pharaoh. The people are oppressed, but the more they 
are oppressed the more they multiply. Pharaoh determines to put a 
stop to the increase, but fails. The position of the Israelites becomes 
unbearable — in fact abject slavery. Moses, who is not eligible for 
deification, not being the firstborn, is saved in the ark of bulrushes, 
is brought up by Pharaoh's daughter, and becomes learned in the 
arts of the Egyptians. Seeing an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, he 
slays the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. The murder becoming 
known, he seeks a refuge in Midian. When there he sees the burning 
bush t and hears the voice, "Moses, Moses; and he said, Here am I. 
And God said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, 
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; 
for he was afraid to look upon God," Ex. iii. 

" And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people 
which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their 
masters ; for I know their sorrows ; And I am come down to deliver 
them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of 
the land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with 
milk and honey ; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, 
and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the 
Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel 
is come unto me ; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the 
Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee 
unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children 
of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that 
I should go unto Pharaoh, and that 1 should bring forth the children 
of Israel out of Egypt ? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee ; 
and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee ; When 
thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God 
upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold when I 
come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God 
of your fathers hath sent me unto you ; and they shall say to me, 
What is his name ? what shall I say unto them ? And God said 
unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and he said, Thus shalt thou say 
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And 
God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children 
of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the 
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you ; this is 
my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 61 



Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, 
The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and 
of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying', I have surely visited you, and 
seen that which is done to you in Egypt : And I have said, I will 
bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the 
Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, 
and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk 
and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice ; and thou shalt 
come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye 
shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with 
us ; and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the 
wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. And I am 
sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty 
hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all 
my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof ; and after that he 
will let you go. And I will give this people favour in the sight of 
the Egyptians ; and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall 
not go empty ; But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and 
of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of 
gold, and raiment : and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon 
your daughters ; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians." 

Moses simply furnished with a rod, and Aaron for his mouthpiece, 
present themselves before Pharaoh. " And thus shalt thou say unto 
Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn; 
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me ; and if 
thou refuse to let him go, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn," 
Ex. iv. 22, 23. Here we have the key to the problem — the battle of 
the firstborn. And in order to clearly understand the whole narra- 
tive, strict attention must be paid to the fact that " Israel is God's 
firstborn " ; for it is upon this fact the whole argument rests for the 
necessity of the two versions of the Decalogue. 

" And afterwards Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, 
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may 
hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is 
the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? I know not 
the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. And they said, The God of 
the Hebrews hath met with us : let us go, we pray thee, three days* 
journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he 
fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of 
Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the 
people from their works ? get you unto your burdens. And 
Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye 
make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the 
same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, 
Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore : 
let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the 



62 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 

bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them ; ye 
shall not diminish ought thereof ; for tl ey be idle ; therefore they 
cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God," Ex. v. 1-8. 

The result of this interview is increased burdens. God again 
appears to Moses, and makes a further revelation : — 

" And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord . 
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the 
name of God Almighty, but by my name " Jehovah " was I not known 
to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to 
give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein 
they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the 
children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage ; and I have 
remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of 
Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the 
burden of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, 
and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great 
judgments : and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to 
you a God : and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which 
bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I 
will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to 
give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob : and I will give it you 
for an heritage : I am the Lord," Ex. vi. 2-8. 

From the language used by Moses in reply to Pharaoh's query, 
" who is the Lord," it is clear that Moses was under the impression 
that Eber was the god who had appeared to him, for he says the 
M God of the Hebrews hath met with us," Eber being the founder of 
the Hebraic nation. Moses naturally infers that the deified founder 
had appeared to him, hence the necessity for this further revelation, 
which we have in this chapter, viz., that God was not only the God of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (which Eber most certainly was), but 
that God which appeared to him was the God " Almighty," and that 
his name was " Jehovah." Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had not 
known Him by this name, since the occasion had not arisen in their 
day for Him to display His almighty power, which was about to be 
made manifest by their great deliverance. Moses is made a god 
(Elohim) to Pharaoh, and Aaron was to be his priest. (Let it be 
carefully noted that he is not made a god to the Israelites.) In this 
capacity he brings the plagues upon Egypt, each of which hardens 
Pharaoh's heart. At last Pharaoh is threatened that if he did not 
let the people go, then " All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall 
die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even 
unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill ; and 
all the firstborn of beasts," Ex. xi. 5 ; " For Jehovah was against all 
the gods of Egypt." They were to take all their cattle, their flockr 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 63 



and their herds, and not a hoof was to be left behind, for they were 
to sacrifice these abominations (the firstlings) to the Lord their 
God. Moses is commanded to sanctify all the firstborn, whatsoever 
openeth the womb, among the children of Israel, both of man and 
beast. " Thou shalfc set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the 
matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast ; 
the males shall be the Lord's. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt 
redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt 
break his neck ; and all the firstborn of man among thy children 
shalt thou redeem," Ex. xiii. 12-13. The "male" lamb of the first 
year, without spot and without blemish, is taken to redeem the first- 
born of the Israelites. This lamb is slain, and the blood is sprinkled 
upon the lintels and door-posts. When the Israelites were entirely 
sanctified (from the horrid Egyptian idolatry of worshipping the 
firstling of both man and beast) by circumcision and by slaying this 
Egyptian god— the male lamb — which was to redeem their firstborn, 
then the angel of death smote all the Egyptian gods, " from the first- 
born that sitteth upon the throne to the firstborn of the captive — 
all the firstborn of man and beast." And to prevent the Israelites 
in the future from worshipping " the firstlings," the great passover 
was instituted. " And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time 
to come, saying, What is this ? that thou shalt say unto him, By 
strength of hand the Lord brought thee out from Egypt, from the 
house of bondage : And it came to pass when Pharaoh would hardly 
let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, 
both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast : therefore I 
sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males ; but 
all the firstborn I redeem'" Ex. xiii. 14-15. Here we see the necessity 
for animal sacrifices at the passover, and although Jehovah has been 
pictured as a slaughterhouse Deity, yet it will be admitted that in 
order to prevent the worship of these firstlings, it was absolutely 
necessary that they should be sacrificed in Israel — a nation which 
was raised up, not only to overthrow Pharaohism, but to be a 
kingdom of priests, the vehicle that should communicate God's will 
to the human race. 

When these Egyptian gods were slain, the Israelites were fully 
prepared for their flight, and they march on to the Red Sea. 
Pharaoh pursues them with six hundred chosen chariots, with his 
horsemen and his army ; " And the children of Israel were sore 
afraid, and cried unto the Lord .... And Moses said unto the people, 
Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he 



64 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



will shew to you to day : for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to 
day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight 
for you, and ye shall hold your peace," Ex. xiv. 10-14. 

" And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me ? 
speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift 
thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide 
it : and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the 
midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the 
Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me 1 onour 
upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon 
his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, 
when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, 
and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before 
the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them ; and the pillar 
of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them : 
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of 
Israel ; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by 
night to these ; so that the one came not near the other all the 
night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea ; and the 
Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, 
and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the 
children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry 
ground ; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand 
and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after 
them in the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, 
and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch 
the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar 
of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians. 
And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily : 
so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel ; for 
the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord 
said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters 
may corns again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon 
their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, 
and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared ; 
and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the 
Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and 
covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh 
that came into the sea after them ; there remained not so much as 
one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in 
the midst of the sea ; and the waters were a wall unto them on their 
right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day 
out of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians 
dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the 
Lord did upon the Egyptians : and the people feared the Lord, 
and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses. Then sang Moses 
and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, 
saying, 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 65 



I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously : 
The horse and his lider hath he thrown into the sea. 
The Lord is my strength and song, 
And he is become my salvation ; 

He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation ; 
My father's God, and I will exalt him. 
The Lord is a man of war ; the Lord is his name. 
Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea ; 
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 
The depths have covered them ; 
They sank into the bottom as a stone. 
Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power ; 
Thy right hand, Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 
And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them 

that rose up against thee ; 
Thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, 
The floods stood upright as an heap, 
And the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 
The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, 
I will divide the spoil ; my lust shall be satisfied upon them ; 
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. 
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them ; 
They sank as lead in the mighty waters. 
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods ? 
Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, 
Fearful in praises, doing wonders ? 

Thou stretche-st out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 
Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast 

redeemed ; 
Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 
The people shall hear, and be afraid ; 
Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 
Then t he dukes of Edom shall be amazed ; 

The mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; 
All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 
Fear and dread shall fall upon them ; 

By the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone ; 
Till thy people pass over, O Lord, 
Till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. 
Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine 

inheritance, 
In the place, Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, 
In the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 
The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. 

For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his 
horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the 
sea upon them ; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the 
midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron. 

p 



66 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 



took a timbrel in her hand ; and all the women went out after her 
with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, 

Sing- ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously ; 

The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea." 

Ex. xiv. 15-31; xv. 1-21. 

The overthrow of Pharaohism, Phe-ra, " the son of the sun," was 
complete. God proved Himself to be " the Jehovah," which gave 
the Hebrews the right and title to firstbornship. After wandering in 
the wilderness for some time, Moses and the people found themselves 
at the foot of Sinai. *' And Moses weijt up unto God, and the Lord 
called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to 
the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel : Ye have seen 
what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, 
and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my 
voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar 
treasure unto me above all people ; for all the earth is mine ; And ye 
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These 
are words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And 
Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before 
their faces all the words which the Lord commanded him. And all 
the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath 
spoken we will do," Ex. xix. 3-8. 

It must be remembered that the words are here spoken to all the 
tribes (*' Israel is my firstborn," and as such God on His part had 
promised that if they would hear His voice and keep His covenant, 
then they all shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, 
" for all the earth is mine," " And ye shall be a kingdom of priests, 
and a holy nation "), for Moses is commanded to lay the matter 
before them, to see if they are willing to " listen to the voice of 
God," keep His covenant, and to become a M kingdom of priests and 
a holy nation," and all the people answered, " All that the Lord hath 
said we will do." 

Now, what had the Israelites engaged to do. 1st. To hear the 
voice of God when He spake all these words, saying, " I am the 
Lord thy God," etc. (See Ex. xx. 1-17.) 2nd. To keep His covenant, 
i.e. the Ten Commandments as found in Deut. v., and known as the 
covenant of Horeb. 3rd. To be a kingdom of priests and a holy 
nation, and as such to teach all the families of the earth the Com- 
mandments as given in Ex. xx., " for all the earth is mine." It will 
be seen on reference to the covenant being made, as recorded in Ex. 
xxiv., that Moses ascends the mount together with Aaron, Nabad, 



THE TWO DECALOGUES. 67 

Abihu, and seventy of the elders. Moses came and told the people 
all the words of the Lord, and all the j udgnients, and all the people 
answered with one voice, " All the words which the Lord hath said 
we will do " (teach the Ten Commandments of Ex. xx.). Now there is 
no mention here abont the covenant. After, however, the people 
assented, Moses set to work for making- the covenant by build- 
ing an altar ; and when the burnt offering and peace offering had 
been sacrificed unto the Lord, we read that " Moses took half of the 
blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled upon 
the altar ; and he took the book of the covenant (i.e. the covenant 
of Horeb — the Ten Commandments in Deut. v.), and read it in the 
audience of the people. And they said, All that the Lord hath said 
we will do and be obedient. And Moses took the blood and 
sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the 
covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these 
words." It will be seen from this that the covenant is the 
covenant of Horeb, as read by Moses in Deut. v., and that it 
bears no relation whatever to the Ten Commandments recorded in 
Ex. xx. 

The Ten Commandments of Ex. xx. was a code which the people 
had engaged to teach as a kiDgdom of priests, to instruct the world 
that " Thou shalt have none other gods before me," etc., and was in 
no way binding upon themselves to keep. Their response to theee 
was " All that the Lord hath said we will do," i.e. to teach as a 
kingdom of priests, and this they could have done without keeping 
one of them. When the covenant of Horeb is being read (the Ten 
Commandments of Deut. v.) and the blood of the covenant is 
sprinkled upon them and the altar, the response is altogether 
different, M All that the Lord hath said we will do, and be obedient." 
Here the people bind themselves by the blood of the covenant to be 
obedient to the words of the covenant, and this covenant is not in 
any way binding upon those who did not enter into that covenant ; 
therefore, while the covenant of Horeb (the Ten Commandments of 
Deut. v.) is not binding upon the Gentiles, neither is the Ten Com- 
mandments of Ex. xx., which is not the covenant, binding on the 
Israelites. And when Moses ascends the mount, after the covenant 
is made, God gave him the two tables of stone, " that thou may est 
teach them." On the one table of stone was written the code of 
Ex. xx., which they had to teach, and on the other was written the 
code of Deut. v. The two codes were to be taught to the children 
of Israel, and Moses was instructed to teach them in order that they 

F 2 



68 THE TWO DECALOGUES. 

might be able to fulfil their mission asa" kingdom of priests and a 
holy nation." 

In the blood- covenant code, which was strictly binding upon 
Israel, the Sabbath was to put them in remembrance that they were 
once servants in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord their God 
had brought them out thence with a mighty hand and a stretched- 
out arm ; therefore the Lord their God commanded them to keep 
the Sabbath day. In the code of Ex. xx., which was not the 
covenant, but a code which they had engaged to teach as a kingdom 
of priests, the words are different; they (the Gentiles) were to 
remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, " For in six days the 
Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and 
rested the seventh day ; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 
and hallowed it." Here we see that since Jehovah proclaims 
Himself to be the great Creator of the universe, He has a perfect 
right to expect that all the inhabitants, wherever there is the 
knowledge of the Sabbath, will keep that day in commemoration of 
that great event, hence the necessity for the two Decalogues and 
their different readings. The expression in Deut. v. 22, " And he 
added no more; and he wrote them in two tables of stone, and 
delivered them to me," will be understood if we remember these 
words were said after Moses had rehearsed the covenant of Horeb, 
for this covenant was the last given. What has, therefore, appeared 
to be a fatal objection to the inspiration of the Decalogues, i.e. the 
discrepancies between them, is found not to be so, but a conclusive 
evidence, clear and beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they are 
what they proclaim to be, " the words of God, written with His 
own finger," the one code written for the Gentile world, the other 
code written for " Israel the firstborn." Moses, who had now learnt 
the knowledge of the true, living, and Creator God, in speaking of 
the coming Messiah as " the only Son of God," says, " The Lord thy 
God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy 
brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." That God had 
revealed this fact is clear, for the 18th verse states, " I will raise 
them up a Prophet from among their biethren, like unto thee, and 
will put my words in his mouth ; and he shall speak unto them all 
that I shall command him." 

Now, what does this Prophet say concerning the Decalogues : — 
" Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : I 
am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, 
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 69 

from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break 
one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall 
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven : but whosoever shall 
'do' and teach them (i.e. be obedient to the covenant code and 
teach the code of Ex. xx.), the same shall be called great in the 
kingdom of heaven," Matt. v. 17-19. This Prophet makes the same 
clear distinction between the Gentile world on the one hand and 
Israel the firstborn on the other. The whole of this discourse is an 
address to " the lost sheep of the house of Israel," for He says he was 
not sent but to them, hence He calls them " the light of the world," 
"the city set on the hill,' " the salt of the earth," that they were to 
take no care for the morrow, for after these things do the Gentiles 
seek ; they, being Israelites (my firstborn) were not to be like the 
Gentiles, for your "Father knoweth that ye have need of these 
things." And it is still the glorious mission for these aristocratic 
tribes (Israelites) to blossom and bud and fill the world with fruit. 
It is for them, by virtue of this birthright, to teach the difference 
between " the holy and profane " ; it is for them to overthrow the 
doctrines of men by teaching the commandments of God, " For the 
law of God is perfect, converting the soul." It is for them to take 
their instructions direct from the only one who has a legal right to 
give inspiration, the only begotten Son of God ; '* For all that came 
before me" (the Phe-ras) ; says Christ, " are thieves and robbers," 
and all that have appeared since His time are mere hirelings — 
wolves in sheep's clothing. 



CHAPTER V. 
THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 



OUR schoolmen are very much divided in opinion as to the origin of 
the week. Some assert that it takes its rise from the creative days ; 
others negative this, but have not been able to prove the positive, or 
even to suggest a conjecture. Ewald, " Antiquities of Israel," p. 98, 
discusses the point as follows : — 

" It would be an error to imagine that this institution of the 
Sabbath, or of the sacred rest of the seventh day, found nothing of 
an earlier date which could furnish an occasion for it when it was 
introduced for the first time on the earth in Israel, and that it was 
in this respect an entirely new discovery of the great founder of the 



70 THE WEEK— ITS OBIGIN. 



new community. Many very ancient nations were acquainted with 
a weekly circle of seven days, which is quite in accord with the fact 
that such a week is spoken of in a primitive history of Jacob 
(Gen. xxix. 20-27). These traces leave no doubt that the division 
into weeks of seven days, and all consequent division of time, was 
widely extended over the earth long before the time of Moses. But 
that it was originally adopted by all nations can be by no means 
inferred thence. On the contrary, there are certain regions in 
Eastern Asia where at the present time a shorter week of five days 
is still in use, and this, according . to many other traces, is quite as 
ancient. Indeed, there are some indications even in Israel itself in 
the earliest times of the use of a corresponding great week of ten 
days (Gen. xxiv. 55, some days or a week of ten days). Accordingly 
almost the same as was said above in regard to circumcision may be 
repeated here, viz., that we have here a custom very widely extended 
in primitive times, but still definitely limited to a large circle of 
nations, and which in particular was unknown in Eastern Asia, 
Still the week of seven days seems to have been more limited in 
Africa, and to refer us rather to Asia. 

" The very fact, however, of there being these two systems may 
assist us in recognising the origin of the division into weeks. As 
the new moon certainly affords the most natural term for all such 
reckoning of days, the month may have been early divided into four 
parts, and the fraction over and above the four tames seven days 
may originally, at least as long as the real month was strictly main- 
tained, have been intercalated somewhere or other when they 
e mounted to a complete day. Only in this way can we explain how 
the sanctity of the number seven became so universal, for there 
must have been a foundation for the fact somewhere. And just as 
easily could the month be divided into three greater weeks of ten, 
or into six smaller of five days each, in which case one of the weeks 
would lose a day when necessary to keep in with the lunar month, 
though here the so]ar year, with its 365 days, comes very near to 
thirty-six greater, plus one of the smaller weeks. It cannot then be 
denied that the reckoning by five and ten days is relatively the more 
original, partly because it can be more easily harmonised with the 
course of the moon, partly because these numbers primitively sug- 
gested themselves with such unique readiness, and form the basis of 
all counting, whilst the sanctity of the number seven manifestly 
finds its first support in the more artificial reckoning of weeks of 
seven days, and the great importance which this subsequently 
attained. 

" In the people of Israel traces are still to be found, as has already 
been remarked, of this most primitive division of time into periods 
of ten (five) days as well as of thirty ; but reckoning by exactly 
equal weeks of seven days without further reference to the course 
of the moon, must very soon have been established among them, 
even as this week was already in existence among many of the 
neighbouring nations. Standing as they did then, entirely on its 



THE WEEK — ITS ORIGIN. 71 



own merits, the cycle of time, with its eternally- constant periods, 
easily came to be regarded as having- something sacred in it ; and 
among heathen nations it was but a short step from this to con- 
secrate each of the days to a god or a corresponding star (planet), 
and then it was only natural to dedicate the last day of the circle to 
Saturn as the god of a remoter antiquity, or at the last tardy- 
pacing planet. Now as Saturn is also the god of dull quiet time, and 
of repose itself, the conjecture was already made by some of the 
scholars of the fast- disappearing old world that Moses had made the 
last day of the week the Sabbath, solely because he regarded it as 
the day of Saturn. But there is nothing to confirm this conjecture. 
Unfortunately we do not now know when and how the week of 
seven days was introduced. But (as was certainly the case) it was 
long anterior to Moses." 

Ewald is very candid in admitting that the first introduction of 
the week is unknown, but suggests that the fact of there being a 
greater week of ten days may enable us to trace out its origin. Dr. 
Kitto, however, writes very strongly, and refers it to the Creation. 
In his u Daily Bible Illustrations — Moses and Judges," p. 29, he says : 

u If the seventh day Sabbath was observed from the time of 
man's creation, an observance which made so large a part in his life 
adequately accounts for all those phenomena in regard to the 
number seven which we witness. But if that institution had no 
existence at all, we are completely at a loss on the subject — nothing 
to say ; nothing to conjecture." 

The writer of the article " Week " in Smith's " Dictionary of the 
Bible," denies that the references to the number seven prove the 
weekly circle, and discusses the point as follows : — 

" We have seen in Gen. xxix. 27 that it was known to the ancient 
Syrians, and the injunction to Jacob to ' fulfil her week ' indicates 
that it was in use as a fixed term for great festive celebrations. The 
most probable exposition of the passage is that Laban tells Jacob to 
fulfil Leah's week, the proper period of the nuptial festivities in 
connection with his marriage to her, and then he may have Rachel 
also (compare Judges xiv.). And so, too, for funeral observances, as 
in the case of the obsequies of Jacob, Joseph made mourning for his 
father seven days (Gen. 1. 10). But neither of these instances, any 
more than Noah's procedure in the ark, go further than showing the 
custom of observing 4 a term of seven days ' for any observance of 
importance. They do not prove that the whole year or the whole 
month was thus divided at all times, and without regard to remark- 
able events." 

In our first chapter we have fully discussed the origin of the 
Sabbath as being an Edenic institution, and have fully shown the 
purpose for which it was set apart and sanctified. We have also 
evidenced the fact that it was known and kept in the early part of 



72 THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 



the pre-Noahic age and in the latter part by the true worshippers 
of God. But that that day had many rivals in consequence of the 
founder of the different clans and tribes, who had proclaimed them- 
selves to be " lords." each having " his day," we have also shown. As 
the apostacy developed, the idea and sanctity of the seventh day 
being holy, died out, and the seventh day week must have perforce 
died out, too, since there would be nothing to register the division, 
for all days would be alike, the only natural division being made 
would be the appearance of the new moon, which has from the 
cradle of the human race been specially marked as the new moon 
day. The re- establishment of the weekly cycle has been shrouded 
in mystery. Scholars like Ewald have had nothing to say beyond 
the regret that " unfortunately we do not now know when and how 
the week of seven days was introduced." However, with our limited 
knowledge of primaevalism we shall be able to disperse the clouds 
of hoary antiquity by allowing the light of modern research to 
reveal the origin of the post-Noahic week. 

Starting with Noah and his three sons as they left the ark, it is 
clear, both from the negative and the positive, that they had no 
calendar except the heavenly bodies which were placed there for 
signs and for seasons. They had a traditional idea of a seven days' 
period, which is demonstrated by the fact of their use of that 
period when in the ark. They, however, had not " the seventh day 
period," for nothing in their history had occurred to cradle these 
consecutive weeks into existence; therefore we have to start with 
Noah and his sons without a calendar. In Ger.. x. we have the 
generation of the sons of Noah given. It will be observed that the 
generation begins with the younger instead of the elder. The 
writer was evidently an anti-Pharaohist. In the 21st verse we have 
the generation of Shem the firstborn. " Unto Shem, also, the father 
of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even 
to him were children born. The children of Shem ; Elam, and 
Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. And the children of 
Aram ; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. And Arphaxad begat 
Salah, and Salah begat Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons : 
the name of the one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth 
divided ; and his brother's name was Joktan. . . . These are the sons 
of Snem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, 
after their nations." From this we learn that it was at the birth of 
Eber's firstborn that the confusion of tongues took place, and that 
the heads of each family became the founders of the different 



THE WEEK—ITS OEIGIN. 73 

nationalities, each speaking their own language. Eber become a 
patriarch, and founded the Hebraic nations, hence his descendants 
were called Hebrews, " the children of Eber," " Abraham the 
Hebrew," Gen. xiv. 13. The generation from Eber to Abram is 
seven, viz., Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, and Abram, Gen. xi. 
In a direct line of firstbornship, therefore, Abraham inherited the 
birthright direct from Eber his progenitor — a birthright which gave 
him the right of prince, priest, and judge, therefore rulership. 
This righl, however, was established and confirmed by a solemn 
oath, which the father made soon after the birth of the child, that 
that child was the firstborn. We are not left in doubt as to how this 
oath was taken. When Abram made his servant swear by the Lord 
God of heaven and the God of the earth, that he would get his son 
a wife from his own kindred, Eliezer put his hand under Abram's 
thigh, taking the emblem of life in his hand, " swore to him concern- 
ing the matter." And the patriarch Jacob, just before his death, 
made Joseph swear in the same way, Gen. lxvii. 29. And likewise all 
the princes when Solomon was made king : " And all the princes and 
the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of King David gave their 
hand under Solomon {taking the emblem of life), and submitted unto 
Solomon the king," 1 Ohron. xxix. 24 (Hebrew reading). It is clear 
from these references that when the father took the solemn oath 
in order to establish the legal right of his firstborn to the office of 
prince, priest, and judge, that he swore by taking his firstborn's 

phallus in his hand. And to commemorate the event he would erect 
the pillar stone, as Jacob and Laban erected the pillar for a covenant, 
u And let it be for a witness between me and thee " ; and Jacob took 

a stone and set it up for a pillar, as representing the phallic stone of 
their common progenitor God. This pillar became a Mizpah, for he 
said, " The Lord watch between me and thee." On a bas-relief of 
the temple of Chons. at Karnak, Thebes, we have this ceremony 
being performed (see next page). There are five figures. The first 
figure is a father kneeling ; a lad about twelve years old is standing 
before him. The father has the boy's phallus in his hand in the act of 
swearing that the boy was "his firstborn." Just behind the lad 
stands his younger brother, and behind him a sister kneeling, who 
is holding the wrist of the younger boy ; and last in the group is 
the mother, who is also kneeling, with her arms outstretched in the 
act of adoration. It would appear from the fact that the princes 
and all the sons of David having sworn by placing the hand upon 
the phallus of Solomon in swearing their allegiance to him, that it 



74 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 




From the Temple, Chons, at Karnak, Thebes. 

[David, sings of his title to the firstborn's blessing in ii Psalm. — 

"Yet have I anointed my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 
I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me. Thou art my 
Son: this day have I begotten thee. 

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inherit- 
ance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them 
in peices like a potter's vessel. 

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings be instructed, ye judges of 
the earth. 

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 

Kiss the Son, lest he . be angry, and ye perish from the way, 
when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that, 
put their trust in him". 

This song carries us back to the days of Melchizedek, when he 
first established the kingdom on mount zion, "the hill of the Lord": 
and put his firstborn son in possession of the kingdom by this de- 
cree (see v.7) which ran with zion. Therefore David was in order 
when he gave utterance to this decree; although he and his son 
were not the firstborn. Christ now claims this title, not by the right 
of conquest, but by teaching me to pray for all but fight for 
none, to love my neighbour as myself, to love my wife and family 
a little better than self, and to love my Creator above all these. Our 
Christianity is not that of its founder; we ought to designate our- 
selves by some other name, To love my neighbour as myself c would 
over-throw our social life: (e.g.) to employ a work-man and get a 
profit of a penny a day; 1 should love myself a penny a day more 
than he: therefore 1 cannot or will not love my neighbour as myself. 
We cannot give an estimate of what a fair days wage is. for a fair 
days work. This problem cannot be solved by an appeal to justice. 

If the above cut represents the rite of circumcision, it cannot be 
a firstborn; but one of the commonalty to prevent its deification 
as it did in the case of Abraham and his seed.] 



THE WEEK— ITS OBIGIN. 75 



was customary for all the members of the family to swear in the 
same manner, the taking their oath of allegiance to the firstborn as 
tbe chief ruler, who, on the death of the father, would take his 
place in the family as their prince, priest, and judge, and the 
erecting of the pillar stone as a memorial of that event. These 
figures have given rise to the belief that the Egyptians practised 
circumcision, from Herodotus, the father of history, to scholars of 
our own times. M. Chabas, in the "Revue Archeologique " for 
1861, contributes an article upon circumcision, and gives an outline 
engraving of this family group to prove his point, at the same time 
f ortif ying his position by quoting H erodotus as his authority. All 
the Egyptologists have endorsed this view. Josephus, in discussion 
on this point, controverts the statement of Herodotus, and quotes 
him thus in his Antiq., Book VIII. c. 10 : — 

" The Ethiopians learned to circumcise their privy parts from the 
Egyptians, with this addition that the Phoenicians and Syrians that 
live in Palestine confess that they learned it of the Egyptians ; yet 
it is evident that no other of the Syrians (Jews) that live in 
Palestine besides us alone are circumcised. But as to such matters 
let every one speak what is agreeable to his own opinion." 

It will be seen that Herodotus, who wrote sixteen hundred years 
after Moses, is no great authority upon this. In fact he never 
mentions the name of Jew or Israelite, and therefore can know but 
little about them. The fact of the Syrians (as he calls the Israelites) 
having come up out of Egypt circumcised, and the group of 
figures which we have drawn attention to would be quite sufficient 
for Herodotus to assume that they learnt it from the Egyptians. 
Manetho, the famous Egyptian chronologer and historian, who knew 
the history of his own country better than Herodotus, bitterly com- 
plains of his mistake about the affairs of his own country. The 
editor of Wilkinson's "Manners of the Ancient Egyptians" (Mr. 
Birch), in a note on Vol. I., 385, refers to this group of figures 
as proving that the rite was practised in Egypt. And Wilkinson 
says : — " The antiquity of this institution is fully established by the 
monuments of the Upper and Lower country at a period long ante- 
cedent to the Exodus and the arrival of Joseph." The primeval 
custom of handing down the birthright from father to son will 
account for these ancient figures. The custom becoming obsolete, 
the father of history would naturally infer that the group repre- 
sented the rite of circumcision, since in both cases the father would 
be represented as having his son's phallus in his hand. The day 1 
which the father put his son in possession of his birthright by swear- 



76 THE WEEK — ITS ORIGIN. 



iDg" by the boy's phallus tog-ether with the members (if any) of the 

family, would be celebrated as "his day," and to hand "the day" 
down to his sons' sons from firstborn to firstborn the pillar stone was 
erected as a witness or mizpah to the covenant. It became his title 
to the birthright, and this gave rise to its being venerated and 
shaped into a penis stone. And in the time of Moses it became an 
object of worship. " Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, 
neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any 
image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it : for I am the 
Lord your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my 
sanctuary: I am the Lord," Leviticus xxvi. 1-2. The connection 
that Moses here makes between the pillar stones and the sanctuary 
makes it clear that in his time it was customary for the ancients to 
make their sanctuaries by erecting these pillar stones in a circle, 
each stone representing a deified firstborn prince ; each pillar stone 
being erected to commemorate " the day " when he was invested 
with the rights and privileges belonging to the firstborn. The 
mission of Joshua was to overthrow this idol worship and throw 
down these " high places," for in Num. xxxiii. 52 Moses commands 
Joshua, saying, " Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the 
land from before you, and destroy all their pictures (male images), 
and destroy all their molten images (calf with the sun between his 
horns), and quite pluck down all their high places." Just as it had 
been customary to swear by the phallus, so it became customary to 
swear by these phalli stones as gods, Joshua xxiii. 7, " Neither 
mention the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them ; neither 
serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them, but cleave unto the 
Lord your G-od." The difference between the " high places " of the 
Hebrews and the " high places " of the Canaanites was that the 
Hebrews were not allowed to make their pillar memorial or mizpah 
stones into phallic stones; hence the command, "Thou shalt not raise 
a tool upon it," whereas the " high places " of the Canaanites all the 
pillar stones were chiselled into phalli stones. No Hebrew prince, 
having the exclusive right to the firstborn, and yet all having an 
equal right as princes, " for Israel is my firstborn," gave them each 
beths or stones upon which to stand, hence their " high place " 
became a Gilgal, a circle within a circle, the great law court and 
parliament, each prince having equal right in the management of 
their national welfare; whereas the Canaanites had but the one beth 
handed down from father to son, hence he was prince, priest, and 
judge standing upon his " lawgiver "; however, in the early part of 



THE WEEK — ITS ORIGIN. 77 



their history, when there were several firstborn sons, as in the case 
of the sons of Heth, all the firstborn sons had to be a party to the 
covenant, each having his beth as well aa his pillnr or phallic stone, 
Gen. xxiii. 11. The Hebrew " high places " were holy (like Mount 
Sinai, which was their first " high place.") It was death to man or 
beast to enter it. A ditch surrounded it to protect it, and t.As was 
usually filled with water, 1 Kings xviii. 35. Twelve trees were 
planted around, and so arranged that each tribal tree would be 
opposite the tribal pillar stone. The ash would be opposite Ephraim's, 
the royal oak Judah's, almond Levi's, etc. The shoe was to be 
removed from the fcot before a prince could enter. Joshua, enter- 
ing the gilgal with his shoe on, nearly cost him his life. Among the 
Canaanites it was not so; their " high places " were very unholy. They 
sacrificed to these idol stones and the molten image, aud their feast 
and worship was most horrid; for when Israel abode at Shittim the 
people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 
"And they called the people unto the sacrifice of their gods (phallic 
stones or male images), and the people did eat, and bowed down to 
their gods " (idol stones), and Phinehas, in order to stop these whore- 
doms, thrust a javelin through the belly of both the Israelite and 
the Midianitish woman. " So the plague was stayed from the 
children of Israel," Num. xxv. 7. In Israel the number of pillar 
stones that were erected were twelve — no more and no less. In the 
" high places " of the surrounding nations the number of stones 
depended entirely upon the number of firstborn princes who had 
reigned since the founder of that particular nation, for each had 
his penis stone ; and here we have the origin of the calendar, and 
the origin of the week of seven days. In Israel the " high places "' 
were sanctuaries or cities of refuge, where the case would be tried 
by the prince of the tribe that the refugee belonged to : and that on 
that particular day when the prince would preside, there being 
twelve princes, each prince would have " his stated day " once a fort- 
night ; aDd in fact it is from this circumstance that we have the 
word fortnight — fourteen nights, the time being computed by nights 
both among the Hebrews and the Saxons. Among the heathen of 
Egypt and Canaan their " high places " were also places of refuge, 
where the refugee would be tried by the king. The particular day 
on which he would try the case would be "his day," and this would 
entirely depend upon the number of phalli stones there. If there 
were, say fifteen, and his the fifteenth, then he would try the case 
on "his day," the fifteenth day counting from the new moon; there- 



78 THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 



fore he would judge as prince once a moon. In pronouncing 
judgment he would 6ware by the gods, i.e. the surrounding phalli 
stones, and his sentence would be irrevocable. In this way the 
Egyptians were enabled to tell to what god each month and day 
belong (Herodotus II. 82), for each had " his day." Keeping these 
facts in view, the profound mystery that has hung over the origin 
of the week is solved at once. When Eber founded the Hebraic 
nation , he erected his pillar stone, and the day he would be found 
44 by the pillar as the custom was " (2 Kings xi. 14) would be near 
moon day as being the first ; the second pillar stone would be that of 
his firstborn Peleg, who would have 44 his day " on the second of the 
new moon; the third pillar stone would be that of Peleg's firstborn, 
Reu, who would have " his day " on the third day of the moon. 
Serug, who was Reu's firstborn, would have " his day " on the fourth 
day of the moon. Nahor, who was the firstborn of Serug, would 
have "his day" on the fifth day of the moon. Terah, who was 
Nahor's firstborn, would have 44 his day " on the sixth day of the 
moon ; and Abram, who was Terah's firstborn, would have " his 
day " on the seventh day of the moon. Abraham, leaving his 
father's house and kindred, and starting a kingdom for the Most 
High God, leaves the Eberoptics with a week of seven days. The 
filling up of the moon's calendar is arrested, and as Abram removes 
entirely away, it leaves the Eberite sanctuary with seven pillar- 
stones, and the line of the firstborn stopping here prevented them 
erecting other firstborn pillar stones; and so the week of seven 
days originated among the royal line of the Shemitic nations, there 
being no possibility of them filling up the moon. The week of seven 
days was followed by another week of seven days in regular succes- 
sion. This completely overthrew the arrangements of the feast days 
of the different gods ; for instance, the god Eber, who had his day 
on the first of the moon, was overruled by the introduction of the 
weekly circle, which governed the lunar circle. This separated the 
day which was dedicated to the deity, and finally left the Eberite 
sanctuary with the seven pillar stones without registering as to what 
days were dedicated to the respective deities. The effect of this was 
that the lunar gods found no place in the weekly circle, and it was 
therefore left open, and was known among the Hebrews as day one, 
day two, day three, etc., until it came to day the seventh, which 
afterwards became known as the Sabbath day. 

Solomon refers all the arrangements to " wisdom." ll Wisdom hath 
builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars ; She hath 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 79 

killed her beasts ; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also fur- 
nished her table," Prov. ix. 1.2. This is a picture of worship in the 
oldest sanctuary. It is just a possibility that these sanctuaries 
existed in the pre-Noahic age. Enoch, who was the seventh, was 
translated, leaving the sanctuary with seven pillar stones ; and there 
is every reason to believe that Cain and Abel repaired to the 
sanctuary to offer up their sacrifices, and that sanctuary had seven 
pillar ?tones, hence those who should slay Cain vengeance was to be 
sevenfold, Gem iv. 15. Judgment was to be pronounced by the 
seven princes. This would explain the Pleiades, the seven stars of 
Job xxxviii. when the morning stars (the seven princes who were 
supposed to have taken up their residence in the stars) sang together 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy. " Vengeance shall be 
taken on him sevenfcld," however, is purely a sanctuary phrase, as 
meaning the seven princes would pronounce the oath, for the oath 
and seven are used in the Hebrew as meaning the same thing. The 
Rabbis put a literal interpretation upon this verse, and want to make 
out that the curse was to descend to the seventh generation. 
Dr. Kitto. art. " Oath," has the following :— 

" Originally an cath of a covenant was taken by solemnly sacrificing 
seven animals, or it was attested by seven witnesses or pledges, con- 
sisting either of so many animals presenting to the contracting party, 
or of memorials erected to testify to the act, as is indicated by one 
of the Hebrew names for oath, which properly denotes seven, and by 
the verb to swear, which means kt to seven," M to produce seven," 
(Comp. Gem xxi. 2S to 31. Knobel, comment on Gen. in loco.' 1 ) 

The oath could not be taken unless all the seven princes agreed to 
it and all this implies that there was a sanctuary with seven pillar 
stones in the time of Cain and Abel ; and the sons of God presenting 
themselves before the Lord in Job's day strengthens the argument. 

We learn from the Hittites' inscription (W. Wright's " Empire of 
the Hittites," p. 222), that their calendar was lunar. 

•• Day 16th, an eclipse happens, the King of Akkad will die, 

Kegel in the land will eat up. Day 20th, an eclipse happens, the 

King of Hath will come, and the throne will take. Day 15th, an 

^e happens, the son of the king his father will kill, and the 

throne will take ; and the enemy will come and the country eat up." 

These days are reckoned from the new moon. While, however, 
this fixed the week of seven days in the neighbourhood where the 
pillar stones were erected and among the descendant s of the first- 
born, i.e. Israelites, yet it did not fix the week of seven days upon 
those Eberites, who had left and founded cities for themselves. 



80 THE WEEK — ITS ORIGIN. 

This is clear from the fact that the week of Laban was ten days 
and not seven. Nahor. the younger brother of Abram. in founding 
his city. false in assuming to have descended direct from the 

firstborn. H;i he not napped himnelf off as the firstborn, he 
would have had the week of seven days, but this would have stopped 
his deification as a firstborn — a position envied by the members of a 
family : and there can be but very little doubt that this was a great 
factor in the division at Babel. A reference to Onan Gen. xxxviii.) 
refusing to go in unto his brothers widow, to raise up a firstborn to 
his brother, will show to what extent the firstborn was honoured and 
worshipped. However. Nahor could not take the place of Abram, 
but he could take the place of Abraham's firstborn. This might have 
been suggested by the fact that Abram being old and childless, ther 
would be a vacancy, which could only be filled up by Nahor. who 
would think that he had the greatest right to fill that vacancy, 
which, however, was impossible, since he was not the firstborn. 
His pillar had not been erected in the sanctuary of his fathers. To 
obviate this difficulty it was only necessary for him to remove from 
his father's house and sanctuary and set up his claim as the eighth 
first", om among his descendants. That this was Nahor's motive in 
leaving his father's house there cannot be the slightest doubt. The 
birth of Ishmael. however, made no difference to Nahor's claim, 
since he had already assumed the title and office of the firstborn 
among his own family. Laban's week of ten days was made up as 
follows : — Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug. Nahor, Terah Abram. Nahor, 
Bethuel, and Laban. Gen. xxv. 7. The request that " Rebekah may 
abide at least ten days," and after that she may go, was a request 
that she should stop and see if she should have a revelation or 
dream en either of those days to see how she should act. When 
Abram's servant laid his mission before Laban and Rebekah, they 
had had no vision, and therefore they said, ,4 We cannot speak thee 
good or bad," Gen. xxiv. 50. Jacob serving Laban seven years for 
Rachel, the seven was regarded as a complete number, since it was 
not in the power for Jacob to add to or take from the circle that 
had been cradled into existence. Laban telling Jacob to fulfil M her 
week." Jacob was to fulfil the nuptial week of Leah — a week which 
was different to his own. Jacob's being a seven day week. Leah's a 
ten day week. This was necessary, in order that the marriage may 
have the binding force, for Laban would sware when he entered 
into a contract with Jacob by the household gods. i.e. small phallic 
stones, which he would bequeath to his firstborn. These phalli 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 81 



stones did service as mizpah stones in the family, whereas the 
standing pillar stones did service as between family and family, 
tribe and tribe. When each day of the moon was filled np by a 
deified firstborn, then the nuptial week would be twenty-eight days, 
which gave rise to the "honey moon." When Jacob and his family 
stole away from Laban, Rachel stole the household gods, the obvious 
reason being that it should prevent Laban from swearing by these 
to do Jacob an injury. When Laban overtook Jacob, and a covenant 
was arranged by them, both swearing by a pillar stone, calling 
" their " god to witness, and a heap had been erected as a landmark, 
Rachel would have gladly given back to Laban the group of phalli 
stones ; but as Jacob had said, " With whomsoever thou findest thy 
gods let him not live," she could not do it. Jacob, when he had 
crossed the border land and entered into Canaan, he commanded 
that they all put away their strange gods. As they were in a strange 
land the gods were useless, and so Jacob buried them under the oak 
which was by Shechem. Abram, when in the Hittite country, says 
that he was " but a stranger and a sojourner, there being no relation 
between Hittite gods and his own progenitor gods, although the 
sons of Heth said that Abram was a " mighty prince." This was by 
virtue of his being the firstborn, Gen. xxiii. 4-6. God appearing to 
Abram would appear on " Abram's day," i.e. the seventh — a revela- 
tion which would convince Abram that there was a god of the 
seventh day besides himself. All the covenants would also be made 
on this day between God, Abram, Isaac and Jacob. The covenant of 
circumcision was to be performed on the eighth day, the very day 
Abram would, according to custom, have performed his oath, swear- 
ing by taking Ishmael's phallus in his hand, making him elligible 
for deification and ruler of his house by virtue of being the first- 
born. The covenant being made before Ishmael was born — a 
covenant in which Abram surrendered his claim to deification and 
bound him and his descendants to acknowledge and worship the 
only true Creator God — prevented Ishmael from having " his day," 
and becoming a god, and adding another day to the week. This 
eighth day, however, would not be reckoned from the child's birth, 
but the eighth from the new moon day. If Ishmael had been born 
on the 16th of the moon, Abram would have waited until the 8th of 
the following moon before he would have performed his oath, when 
the pillar stone would be erected on the same day to commemorate 
the event. To alter the time from the 8th of the moon to the 8th 
from the nativity was necessary, since circumstances would not 

G 



THE WEEK — ITS ORIGIN. 



allow them to swear on the 8th from the new moon, they would 
naturally perform the ceremony on the 8th from the birth, therefore 
to stop this, which was anticipated as a result of the calendar stop- 
ping at the seventh of the new moon, God commands that every 
male child shall be circumcised on the eighth from its birth. It is 
clear that the offering up to the Lord of the firstborn of both man 
and beast on the 8th day was to prevent their deification and wor- 
ship. " Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, 
and of thy liquors : the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto 
me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep ; 
seven days it shall be with his dam ; on the eighth day thou shalt 
give it me. And ye shall be holy men unto me," Ex. xxii. 29-31. It 
appeais to have been customary for the firstborn to be entitled to all 
the firstborn of the flocks as a tithe which the younger members 
of the family had to present on the day dedicated to the firstborn. 
Abel, offering up the firstlings, paid these tithes. It does not follow 
that these firstlings were slain any more than the firstborn of man 
was slaiD, who was given unto the Lord; or that when they were 
driven out of the garden that God slew animals and clothed our first 
parents with their skins. It simply states that " God made them 
coats of skins and clothed them," i.e. gave our first parents an 
extra thick skin to withstand the climatic changes that the human 
race would be subjected to by virtue of their disobedience. 

The week was fixed at seven days, and Abram, who was the god 
of the seventh day, stood aside for Jehovah, hence the seventh day 
became Jehovah day, the seventh day, He who became known by 
the after seed of Abraham as the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of 
Jacob. This eternally fixed the week at seven days, and the seventh 
as Jehovah day — a day to be kept holy, wherein no work was to be 
done, a day when Jehovah would meet with His people wherever 
they erected their altar to His name ; a day when He would com- 
mune with them from between the mercy seat. We must not, how- 
ever, infer from this that Abraham kept the Sabbath, for when he 
was in Ur of the Chaldees he would rule as a prince, and his day 
would be the seventh day, the seventh day of the moon. When, 
however, there was no poesi nlity of adding to the weekly circle, 
then the consecutive week followed. God appearing on those par- 
ticular days stamped them as "his days." The seventh day was the 
only day that Abram could worship God, for that would be God's 
revelation day. The covenant to offer up Isaac was to test if Abram 
was prepared to go to the extent q* slaying his son in order to pre- 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. S3 

rant his deification, nnd the day that Abram was about to offer him 
up was the seventh day, the day that became the Sab-beths day. In 
this way the day became known by the seed of Abraham, Isaao and Ja- 
cob as God's day, and the pagan custom of ancestralizing on Abram's 
"day" was overthrown by the giving of the laws on Mount Sinai. 
'In it thou shalt do no manner of work." Ancestralizing was con- 
sidered a "bodily work," therefore it was forbidden, and in the cap- 
tivity the day became a fast day among the Asiatic Jews in exile, 
and so we meet with them among the daisies and known as the 
•'fasting Jews." These had transferred the feast of the Sabbath from 
the eve of the Sabbath to the first day of the week, hence we find 
them in Asia, Acts xx 7, oelebrating the feast of Creation on the 
first day of the week. The feasting Jews who feast on the Sabbat hi 
keep up the pagan custom of ancestralizing on the Sabbath. 

And some of the Christian sects keep up this custom to this day* 
The Assyrio- Catholic church however, made canons against the 
custom, and their fasting on the Sabbath carried with it the prohi- 
bition of married duties on that day. These prohibitions, however, 
are post-exilic and have come down to us. 

A great many of the fasts of the church have been bequeathed 
to us from pagan times. Thus the Pharisee could boast of fasting 
twice in the week, i. e., the fourth and sixth days of the week* 
days which originnlly had been days of feasting and ancestralizing. 
Thus the fourth day was coined into existence when the golden 
candlestick represented the seven days of the week and the center 
or fourth represented the sun. When the kingdom was divided the 
northern tribes had gone over to Baal. Then the Sabbath became 
Baal-day or Sunday. This was the original day for ancestralizing. 

In the case of the anointing of Saul and David as kings, Samuel in 
the first place, was guided by the fact that Saul was a giant, and it 
was because of his stature he was chosen; but with David it was not 
so. Jesse the Benjaminite is chosen, and his seven sons who were 
the builders pass before Samuel (after the altar for sacrifice had 
been erected), but they are rejected. Samuel would not anoint the 
firstborn, for if he did he would re-establish the old religious cult 
which was destined to pass away, therefore David is chosen, and 
having to take a stone which had been rejected and place by a pillar 
stone, he was anointed on "his day," the seventh day — the Sabbath 
day. Thus while the worthless stone the builders (i, e„ the sons of 



84 THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 



Jesse) refused, became the chief stone, attesting to the fact that 
David had been anointed king. Every anniversary after this David 
repairs to his sanctuary on this Sabbath to pay his vows as the custom 
was, and he gave expression to these words, i4 The stone which the 
builders refused, is become the head stone of the corner. This is 
the Lord's doings, and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day 
(i.e. the Sabbath) which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be 
glad in if," Psalm cxviii. 22. And since our Lord claims to be 
David's Lord, the day became the " Lord's day," hence the day was 
invested with a peculiar veneration, reminding the Israelites of the 
coming Prince of the House of David ; for since David was crowned 
on that day, the throne was to be an everlasting throne— in fact it 
was " Uod's throne," because it was established on God's day; and the 
pillar and the day became memorials of that event. 

The account that is given in 1 Sam. xvi. of the anointing of David 
is brief, but with a knowledge as to how the anointing took place, 
the whole narrative is understood; and what we have stated is 
implied in the story, viz., that they could not sacrifice without the 
altar, and to erect their altar they must erect their pillar stones, and 
to anoint the king they must do it by the pillar as the custom was 
(see 11 Kings xi. 14) as a witness to the anointing. 

The Egyptians had a god for each day and month (Herodotus II. 82) 
but not a god for each week. It is clear that their calendar was not 
arrested. In Wilkinson. Vol. III. p. 355, there is a woodcut of a 
procession of the god Khem or Amsi and of the White Bull. The 
Bull with the sun between his horns heads the procession, then 
follows the statues of nine ancestral gods of the deified Pharaohs, 
then the reigning Pharaoh, and in rear fifteen priests with standards. 
The week in Egypt at this time consisted of ten days (in another 
processional scene there are three ancestral gods following the 
W T hite Bull), and according to the number of the ancestral gods 
they carried in their procession, so was the number of days filled up 
in their lunar calendar until every day in the year was dedicated to 
a god. The Egyptians, carefully noting the incidents in the lives of 
their kings, supposed that a person born on a day which was dedi- 
cated to a particular god that there would be some affinity between 
the god and the child born on '■ his day," thus associating a particular 
star or planet with the god, gave rise to a system of astrology, 
casting nativities, and predicting the future history of those who 
patronised them, and this system was copied by all the ancient 
nations. (Herodotus II. 82.) 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 85 



That the week of seven days as a complete number was preserved 
rmtil the time of Balaam by the Moabite portion of the Eberic race 
may be inferred from Balaam building- seven altaTs. His inviting 
the princes of Moab to stay over night was in order that he migh 
have a divine revelation to go with the piinces. This day must have 
been the day that was at one time Abram's day, but had been 
changed to Jehovah's day ; and the sublime prophecies uttered by 
Balaam is quite in harmony with the fact that Balaam knew full 
well that " Israel was God's firstborn." And all the prophecies 
uttered by him were birthright promises, therefore it was impossible 
for him to curse what God had blessed, for the time would come 
when the " star should arise out of Jacob and a sceptre out of Israel." 

Among the Jephthic or Hamic races there is not the slightest 
trace of the week, the obvious reason being that their calendar was 
never arrested ; but among the Shemitic there are faint traces, as 
in the case of Asshur, the founder of the great Assyrian nations, 
Gen. x. 11. In an able review of Assyrian texts in the " Records of 
the Past," Vol. IX. (Bagster and Sods, 1887), the "Saturday 
Review " of Dec. 8th has the following : — 

" From the Chaldean account of the Creation, of which the first 
and fifth tablets, the only ones found in tolerable preservation, are 
presented here by the same translator [the late Mr. Fox Talbot], it 
is inferred with reason, as Mr. Sayce was beforehand in announcing 
two years ago that the Babylonians believed the Sabbath to have 
been ordained at the Creation, that the weekly Sabbath was observed 
by them with much strictness, the king being forbidden to take a 
drive in his chariot, and various meats being prohibited, and other 
minute observances being enjoyned, has long been known. The 
Chaldean legend, however, falls short of the majesty of the Hebrew 
Genesis." 

From this one would suppose that the consecutive week of 
seven days was known to the Babylonians, and that the seventh 
day of that week, like the Hebrew, was a sacred Sabbath day, but it 
was not so. The moon governed their week (if it may be called a 
week), and a separate and distinct deity presided over every day of 
that moon. However, we will let the tablets speak for themselves. 
We extract from a translation of the Creation Tablet and the first 
institution of the Sabbath. By H. F. Talbot, F.R.S. Read before the 
Society of Biblical Archaeology, London, Jan. 4th, 1876. " Records 
of the Past." Vol. IX.:— 

Tablet V. 

1. He constructed dwellings for the great gods. 

2. He fixed up constellations, whose figures were like animals. 



86 THE WEEK— ITS OBIGIN. 



3. He made the year into four quarters ; he divided it, 

4. Twelve months he established, with their constellations three by 

three. 

5. And for the days of the year he appointed festivals. 

6. He made dwellings for the planets, for their rising and for their 

setting. 

7. And that nothing should go amiss, and that the course of none 

should be retarded, 

8. He placed with them the dwellings of Bel and Hea. 

9. He opened great gates on every side. 

10. He made strong the portals on the left hand and on the right. 

11. In the centre he placed the luminaries. 

12. The moon he appointed to rule the night, 

13. And to wander through the night until the dawn of day. 

14. Every month without fail he made holy assembly days. 

15. In the beginning of the month, at the rising of the night, 

16. It shot forth its beams to illuminate the heavens. 

17. On the seventh day he appointed a holy day, 

18. And to cease from all business he commanded. 

19. Then arose the sun in the horizon of heaven in (glory)." 

Mr. Talbot, in a foot-note, says: — " It has been known for some 
time that the Babylonians observed the Sabbath with considerable 
strictness. On that day the king was not allowed to take a drive in 
his chariot, and various meats were forbidden to be eaten ; and 
there were a number of other minute restrictions. But it was not 
known the Sabbath to have been ordained at the Creation. I have 
found, however, since this translation of the fifth tablet was com- 
pleted, Mr. Sayce has recently published a similar opinion. (See 
•The Academy* of Nov. 27, 1875.") We will quote Mr. Sayce's 
opinion from " The Academy " further on. 

I cannot refrain from drawing attention to the fact that in this 
tablet the seventh day is here clearly identified with the sun rising 
in the horizon, Thus the seventh day is the Sun- day, and not one 
single instance do we ever find in all the tablets that Sunday is ever 
associated either with the first day of the year moon or the week ; 
neither is it made the first day of creation. But more anon. The 
next authority we quote is the late Mr. George Smith, of the British 
Museum. " Assurbanipal, translated from the Cuneiform Inscrip- 
tions," 1871, pp. 325, 326 :— 

" Each month had a presiding deity or deities. These [months] 
were — 

Nisan of Anu, and Bel. 
Iyyar of Hea, Lord of Mankind. 
Sivan of Sin, eldest son of Bel. 
Tammuz of the Warrior Ninip. 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 87 



Ab, of the Mistress. . . . 

Elul of Ishtar, Mistress. . . . 

Tishri of Shamas, warrior of the Universe. 

Marchesvan, the ruler of all the gods. Merodach, 

Kislev, of the great warrior god Nergal. 

Tebet of Papsukul, attendant of Anu and Ishtar. 

Sebat of Vul, leader of heaven and earth. 

Adar of the seven great gods. 

Veadar of Assur, father of gods. 
Each day of the month was a festival *to a particular deity or 
deities, and this succession of festivals was the same in each month, 
bo that a list of the daily festivals of one month answers for the 
months of the year [here follows the list, which we omit]. ' Each 
day was a lucky day or an unlucky day, and the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, 
and 28th days were called sidu or sulum, Hebrew, shelva and shalom 
meaning ■ rest.' The calendar contains lists of works forbidden to 
be done on these days, which evidently correspond to the [weekly] 
Sabbaths of the Jews. The 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days of the 
month correspond with the four quarters of the moon in the lunar 
calendar, and like the Jewish Sabbath occurred after intervals of 
six days, but I cannot find any reason why the 19 th day of the month 
was also a day of rest." 

It will be seen that the Assyrian Sabatu cannot be identified with 
the Hebrew Sabbath. The latter was not governed by the lunations, 
whereas the Assyrian Sabatu was. We have, however, the old 
sanctuary arrangement kept up, each day of the moon being dedi- 
cated to a deity. This fact is important, as it bears witness to what 
I have already stated, that the heathen sanctuary consisted of 
twenty-eight phalli stones. These tablets were written in the time 
of Assurbanipal, king of Assyria when the primeval religion of 
Pharaohism, or worship of the firstborn, had been greatly corrupted. 
The kings, however, claimed to have descended from their progenitor 
god Asshur, for they always invoked his aid in battle, and gave him 
the title of being " father of their gods." Mr. Ernest A. Budge, 
M.R.A.S., in the " Sabbath Memorial " for October, 1879, writing of 
the 19th day being a Sabbath, gives the following reason : — 

" The months were lunar, and divided into two lunations. The 
quarters were Sabbaths, and the fifth day of the second lunation 
(viz. the 19th) was a ' Sabbath ' or ' rest day ' and a ' day unlaw- 
full to work.' The period of five days were called a cassud or time 
of ascendancy. See Prof. Sayce, * Astrology and Astronomy of the 
Babylonians.' '* 

Mr. Ernest Budge here notices the fact that the month was lunar, 
and that the week was simply the division of the moon into quarters, 
each quarter day having something of a Sabbatic character. We 



88 THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 



will now quote the Rev. A. H. Sayce from the "Academy" of Nov, 

27th, 1875:— 

" It is now some time since first M. Oppert, and then more fully 
Dr. Schrader (in the ' Studien und Kritiken ' 1873), pointed out the 
Babylonian origin of the week. Seven was a sacred number among 
the Accadians, and their lunar months were at an early epochc 
divided into periods of seven days each. The days were dedicated 
to the sun and moon and five planets, and to the deities who presided 
over these. The Northern Semites borrowed this division of time, 
and carried it with them on their migration to the west. In one of 
the newly-found fragments which recount the Chaldepn version of 
the Creation, the apportionment of the stars, called * leaders of ihe 
week,' is expressly mentioned ; and the same fragment records how 
the moon was made * to go forth from heaven on the seventh day.' 
Four years ago Mr. George Smith drew attention to the fact that 
the 7th, 14th, 19th, and 28th days of tbe month were termed days 
of sulum, or ' rest.' On certain days works were forbidden to be 
done, and that the expression • day of rest ' was but the Assyrian 
translation of an older Accadian equivalent which signifies dies ne 
fastus. Now, a hemerology of the month of intercalatory Elul, 
lithographed in the fourth volume of the • Cuneiform Inscriptions 
of Western Asia,' gives what we may call a saint's calendar for the 
month, with notes upon the religious duties required from the king 
each day. The memorandum attached to the seventh day I translate 
as follows : — 

" * The 7th day, the festival of Merodach and Zirpanitu, a holy day, 
a Sabbath for the ruler of great nations. Sodden flesh (and) cooked 
fruit he may not eat. li is clothes he may not change ; (new) gar- 
ments he may not put on, sacrifices he may not offer. The king his 
chariot he may not drive, in royal fashion he may not legislate. A 
place of assembly for the judge he may not establish, medicine for 
his ailments of body he may not apply. To make a measured 
square it is suitable. During the (ensuing) night, in the presence of 
Merodach and Ishtar, the king should erect his altar, make a sacri- 
fice, and, lifting up his hand, worship (in) the high place of the 
god.' 

" The same memorandum is attached to the 14th, 21st, and 28 th 
days of the month, except that the 14th was consecrated to Beltis and 
Nergal, the 21st to the moon and sun, and the 28th to Heaand Nergal, 
whose ' rest day ' it is expressly said to be, the word being written in 
Accadian. On the 21st, moreover, it was * white garments' which 
might not be put on, and the sacrifice to the gods had to be per- 
formed at dawn. The 19th day was also a Sabbath, ' the white day ' 
of the goddess Gala. I have explained in my monograph upon 
Babylonian Astronomy (in the 4 Transactions of the Society of 
Biblical Archeology,' 1874, p. 207) how this came to be the case. 
Even the word Sabbath itself was not unknown to the Assyrians, 
Mr. Boscawen has pointed out to me that it occurs under the form 



THE WEEK— ITS ORIGIN. 89 

Sabattu in 'W. A. I.,' 11-32, 16, where it is explained as 'a day of 
rest for the heaiV " 

We cannot follow Mr. Sayce when he says that the lunar months 
of the Accadians at an early period were divided into a period of 
seven days each ; that " these days were dedicated to the sun, moon, 
and five planets, and to the deities who presided over these. Neither 
can we follow him when he says that the " Semites borrowed this 
division of time and carried it with them on their migration to the 
west." There is not the slightest evidence in the Assyrian tablets that 
have been translated that would prove that the week of seven days 
was followed by another week of seven days, and that the sun and 
moon and five planets presided over each consecutive week. The 
evidence of the tablets is clear and unmistakeable, and according to 
Professor Sayce's own translation, " the moon was made to go forth 
from heaven on the seventh day," thereby leaving the sun as " lord 
of the seventh day," and certainly not lord of the first day. Again 
with us the sun and moon are the " leaders of the week," therefore we 
could not have derived it from the Accadians, who, according to 
Mr. Sayce, looked upon the stars as the " leaders of the week." In 
the tablets from which we got our knowledge of the Sabbath, the 
hemerology of the month of intercalary of Elul, which Mr. Sayce 
has pressed into service, we find that the king makes his offering to 
both moon and sun on the 1st day. The same is repeated on the 2nd 
day, the 11th day to the moon only, the 13th day to both moon and 
sun, the 15th the same, the 18th again repeated, and also on the 
20th, 21st, and 22nd ; on the 23rd to the sun and Rummanu, the 29th 
" the rest day of the moon," the 8th tablet (beginning) " the moon 
the lord of the month " (see " Records of the Past," Vol. VII. 
pp. 157-168.) There is no mention here of the sun, moon, and five 
planets presiding over the week of seven days, and there is no 
mention of it in the Assyrian Calendar, by Mr. Sayce, in "Records of 
the Past," Vol. I., p. 165. 

Our modern planetary week does not come down to us, as some 
have asserted, from the creation ; neither was the sun ever associated 
with the first day of the week, month, or year. The evidence of 
these fireclay tables state in the most positive manner that the new 
moon or Monday was always the first day, and the sacrifices wej.e 
offered first to the moon and then to the sun. The moon precedes 
the sun, the obvious reason being that their night, like the Hebrews, 
preceded the day. In our inquiry these facts are all important, for 
they are not the mere opinions of men.but records; not the antiquity of 



90 THE SABBATH SIGN. 



fraud; and nowhere do they ever state that Sunday is the first day, 
and Monday the second day, but that each day of the moon was 
dedicated to some particular god or gods, and " the moon the lord 
of the month," and that the 29th, which was the new moon day, was 
" rest day of the moon," the deity dedicated to their first progenitor 
god, hence the reverence paid by the Hebrews to the " new moon," 
which was their monthly Sabbath, a festival in honour of their great 
Creator God, hence the remark of the Shunamite woman, " It is 
neither new moon nor sabbath." 

The post-Noahic week of seven days originated in the Eberite 
sanctuary, and from thence it has been introduced by the Hebrew 
race to the nations of the earth ; and where there has been no con- 
tact with the Hebrew race, there we shall find no trace of the 
seventh day week. Assuming that the Saxons are the descendants 
of Eber, then it is our birthright to be "the kingdom of prieBte, the 
holy nation," a right conferred upon us by virtue of our being " the 
firstborn." " Israel is my firstborn," and as such " Israel is to blossom 
and bud, and to fill the world with fruit." Yes, take this seventh 
day period and teach that the seventh day of that period (and not 
the first) is the Sabbath of the Lord their God, and therefore they 
are to keep it holy. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SABBATH THE PERPETUAL SIGN OF THE 

COVENANT. 

One of the many objections that has been raised against the obliga- 
tion for the observance of a universal Sabbath is, *• that the Sabbath 
is a sign between God and his chosen people, and as such only bind- 
ing on them, and not in any way binding upon the Gentiles " ; and 
upon the assumption that we are Gentiles, our opponents " con- 
scientiously advocate the secularising of our Sunday, since we have 
no law of God to observe that day.' And being English citizens 
they exercise their right by advocating the repeal of those Sunday 
laws which they think interfere with their liberties. And since the 
museums and art galleries are the public property of the State, they 
advocate that these should be thrown open on the Sunday for 
amusement and recreation. Now, all this is very plausible, and to 
the unwary very convincing ; and the advocates of this argument 



THE SABBATH SIGN. 91 



tell us that it is " simply unassailable, and that it is a fortress that has 
sheltered them from every onslaught from the Sabbatarian camp." 
That it has done them good service we are ready to admit, when we 
see the array of literary men of all nationalities, both Jews and 
Gentiles, Church and Dissent. However, to assert that their position 
is unassailable is a statement we cannot subscribe to ; we therefore 
join issue. We will quote the following as showing their argument 
in their own language, and then pass them in review. 

Mr. Cox, in his " Sabbath Laws," p. 166, says : — 

" With respect to the Fourth Commandment in particular, there 
is this further and irresistible (though unnecessary) proof of its 
exclusively Jewish character, that the Sabbath is expressly declared 
in Scripture to be one of those distinctive institutions which were 
appointed for the purpose of keeping the Jews apart from the 
idolatrous nations around them, and to be at the same time a token 
and memorial of the covenant between God and His people. In 
Ex. xxxi. 12-14, 17, we read, ' And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, My 
Sabbaths ye shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you through- 
out your generations ; that ye may know that I am the Lord that 
doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is 
holy unto you. . . . Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the 
Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a. 
perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of 
Israel for ever.' See also Ezek. xx, 12-19-20, * Moreover, also, I 
gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, that they 
might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them ... I am the 
Lord } our God ; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments and 
do them, and hallow my Sabbaths ; and they shall be a sign between 
me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.' Now 
it is evident, as a late writer has observed, that the Sabbath could 
nob be a sign between God and His people Israel unless (as Dr. 
Paley remarks 'Moral Phil.,' II. 81) the observance of it was peculiar 
to that people, and designated to be so. It may be indeed contended 
that as the covenant, of which the Sabbath was the sign, came in its 
appointed time to an end, the sign might then be peculiar to the 
Jewish people ; but the language in which the promise of the sign 
is given is too pointedly applicable to that people only for it to 
become applicable to any other ; so that, if ever the Sabbath ceased 
to be a sign I o the Jews, it ceased altogether as a sign, and in conse- 
quence the obligation to observe the Sabbath ceased also. 

" But further, the language in which the promise of the sign of 
the Sabbath is given, remarkable for its strictly exclusive applica- 
bility to the Jewish race, is rendered still more remarkable by the 
irresistible proof to which it leads, that the Sabbath of the Jews 
was never to become the Sabbath of the Christians. The language 
used in regard to the Sabbath is similar to that which is used in 



92 THE SABBATH SIGN. 



regard to other Jewish festivals. The covenants of which the 
Sabbath was to be a sign is spoken of as a perpetual covenant with 
the children of Israel throughout their generations — a sign between 
God and the children for ever. In like manner it is said of the 
feast of unleavened bread, " For in the self same day I brought 
your armies out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall ye observe 
this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever " (Ex. xii. 17). 
Yet no Christian doubts but that, upon the promulgation of the 
Gospel, the feast of unleavened bread, although directed to be observed 
as an ordinance for ever, ceased to be obligatory upon the Jews, and 
never became obligatory upon the Christians. By parity of reason- 
ing the duty of observing the feast of the Sabbath (Lev. xxiii. 2, 3), 
which was to be a sign between God and the children of Israel for 
ever, was, upon the promulgation of the Gospel, no longer obligatory 
upon the people, and could not become obligatory upon Christians 
unless reversed by a new command, which it never was. . . ." 

Mr. Cox, on p. 169, " Sabbath Laws," quotes Bishop Warburton 
to support his view as follows : — 

" Bishop Warburton justly observes that, ' Nothing but a rite by 
institution of a positive law could serve for a sign or token of a 
covenant between God and a particular selected people ; for, besides 
its use as a remembrance of the covenant, it was to serve them as a 
partition wall to separate them from other nations ; and thus a rite 
by positive institution might well do, though used before by some 
other people, or even borrowed from them. But a natural duty has 
no capacity of being thus employed, because a practice observed by 
all nations would obliterate every trace of a sign or of a token or 
covenant made with one. . . ." 

Mr. Cox further bays on page 218 : — 

" The remarks of Bishop Warburton, as already quoted (p. 169), 
4 that had the Jewish Sabbath been moral and not a positive institu- 
tion, it could not have been employed as a partition wall to separate 
the Jews from other nations.' To that remark I see no possibility of 
reply." 

Mr. Cox here sees no possibility to reply to the arguments of 
Bishop Warburton and himself. The Jewish Rabbins take the 
same view, and are quoted to support and strengthen this argument. 
Selden, " De Jure Naturali," lib. 3, c. x. : — 

"In their oldest liturgies they have prayers and hymns appro- 
priate to the Sabbath, in one of which is inserted that passage in 
Ex. xxxi. where the Sabbath is called 'a sign between God and 
Israel,' to which is added, 'And Thou hast not given it, O Lord our 
God, to the nations of the earth ; nor bast Thou given it as a posses- 
sion or inheritance, O our King, to the idolaters, nor will the ungodly 
inhabit its rest, since Thou has given it tc Thy people Israel from 
their love to the seed of Jacob, because Thoa delightest in them.' : ' 

It will be seen that the mistake that these Jewish Rabbins and 



THE SABBATH SIGN. 93 



Mr. R. Cox have made is that they make no difference between the 
sign and that which is signified by the sign. To them they are both 
the same, i.e. " rest," the Jews praying that " this rest was not given 
to the Gentiles, but to His people Israel." Now, if we are to make no 
difference between the sign and the thing signified, then by the 
same parity of reasoning a wedding ring is a married woman, and a 
married woman is a wedding ring. And to carry the argument still 
further, to pledge the wedding ring is to pledge the wife, and to 
finally get rid of your wife is simply to melt down the ring ; there 
can be no difference, for the wife and the ring are the same, ie. the 
sign and the thing signified. Now we advise the anti-Sabbatarians 
to put their arguments to a crucial test. Those who assert that the 
sign and the thing signified is the same, those among them who desire 
a separation who have lost their first love, who are tired of old 
faces, who care nothing for the solemn marriage vows, just melt 
down the ring and see if the marriage is dissolved, and if you will 
be liberated from the sacred vow of the covenant. The Sab-bath is 
the " sign " (i.e. the stone the Sab stood upon when he rehearsed the 
words of the covenant), and that which is signified is " the blood 
covenant of Horeb." When the blood was sprinkled upon the altar 
and the people, the words of the covenant were " All that the Lord 
hath said we will do (i.e. teach the Ten Commandments of Exodus) 
and obey " (i.e. the covenant of Horeb, the Ten Commandments of 
Deut. v.), for every seventh day the priest was to stand upon his 
stone, and this stone was the sign or witness to put them in mind 
when God first stood upon His sapphire stone, and gave them the 
covenant, swearing by Himself, as he coud swear by no greater. 

Wherever the Sab-bath is mentioned as a sign, it is always men- 
tioned as the Sabbath that was to be a sign, and not once is it ever 
mentioned that the Sab-bath " day " was to be a sign. " Verily my 
Sab-baths ye shall keep (preserve the beth), for it (the beth) is a sign 
between me and you throughout your generations. Wherefore the 
children shall keep the Sab-beth (preserve the beth) to observe the 
Sab-beth (to listen to the Sab when he stands upon his beth) 
throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant ; it is a sign 
(of the covenant) between me and the children of Israel for ever. 
Moreover, also, I gave them my Sab-beths (God gave his priests 
beths or thrones) to be a sign (the beth to be the sign or insular of 
their office, showing that they were legally the priests of God who 
were to rehearse the covenant) between me and them, that they 
might know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify them." The 



94 THE SABBATH SIGN. 



priest standing upon his beth was to testify of the God who had 
sanctified them, hence they are told, " I am the Lord your God ; 
walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them, and 
hallow my Sab-beths (reverence the beths upon which the priests 
stand), and they (the beths) shall be a sign between me and you that 
I am the Lord your God." When the Pharaoh of Egypt installed a 
firstborn as a prince and ruler, he gave him his beth or stone, and 
this was the title, sign, or witness that the possessor was a prince or 
priest ; and it is from the representation on the Egyptian monuments 
that we can tell the king, prince, or priest from the commonality, 
for we always find the rulers represented as standing upon their 
beths, and therefore these beths became the sign in Egypt and in 
Israel that the owners were princes and priests. " Blessed is the 
man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold upon it 
and keepeth the Sab-beth from polluting it, and keepeth his hand 
from doing any evil ; neither let the son of the stranger that hath 
joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, the Lord hath utterly 
separated me from his people. Neither let the eunuchs say, Behold 
I am a dry tree, For thus saith the Lord, Unto the eunuchs that 
keep my Sab-beths, and choose the things that please me, and take 
hold of my covenants (observe the day the priest stands upon his 
beth, and listen to the words of the covenant), even to them will I 
give in mine house (Gilgal with the twelve pillar stones) and within 
my walls (within the circle of stones) a place and a name better 
than of sons and of daughters : I will give them an everlasting 
name that shall not be cut off. (No one was allowed to enter the 
gil-gal but the princes and priests, and the pillar stones being 
memorials of the princes who had erected them, their names 
were handed down in this way in perpetuity.) Also the sons of the 
stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love 
the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth 
the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant ; even 
them will I bring to n y holy mountain (the earth raised in the 
centre of the gil-gal), and make them joyful in my house (gil-gal) 
of prayer (the stranger is now allowed within the gil-gal) : their 
burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine 
altar ; for mine house (gil-gal) shall be called an house of prayer for 
all people," Isaiah lvi. 2-7. " If thou turn away thy foot from the 
Sab-beths (not turn thy foot away from the Sabbath " day "), from 
doi ug thy pleasure on my holy day ; and call the sabbath a delight) 
(the covenant which was rehearsed by the Sab on his beth a delight)' 



THE SABBATH SIGN. 96 



the holy of the Lord, honourable ; and shalt honour him, not doing 

thine own ways, nor finding- thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine 
own words (the priest who spoke his own words when standing upon 
the beth was a crime punishable by death ; for it was assumed when 
he spoke standing upon the beth, which God says is " My Sab-beths,' 
that he would speak the words of God, the words of the covenant), 
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ; and I will cause thee 
to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the 
heritage of Jacob thy father : for the mouth of the Lord hath 
spoken it," Isaiah lviii. 13 14. There is a marked difference between 
"My Sabbaths" and "your Sabbaths," "My words" and "your 
words." "Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination 
unto me ; the new moons and Sab-beths, the calling of assemblies, I 
cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your 
new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth : they are a 
trouble unto me ; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread 
forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you : yea, when ye make 
many prayers, I will not hear ; your hands are full of blood. Wash 
you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before 
mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, 
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow," 
Isaiah i. 13-17. There could be no greater crime than defiling the 
sanctuary and polluting the Sabs beth. This was done when the 
Sab, standing upon his beth, perverted judgment, making the 
innocent suffer for the guilty, by oppressing the fatherless, those 
who sought redress at the great law court — the gil-gal. It was 
these Sabs and their beths that was an abomination to the Lord. It 
was not " My Sab-beths, my holy day, a delight, the holy of the 
Lord," that was an abomination. No. To take away the beth was to 
take away the sign. These Sabs beths were* hid, like the ark of the 
covenant when Shalmanezer and Nebuchadnezzar came up against 
Israel and Judah, for when the Jews returned they brought back 
all the vessels of the Temple which had been taken away, the ark 
of the covenant, the altar of incense but these " holy stones " did 
not come back; for when Ezra read aioud the law, he stood 
upon a " pulpit of wood," Neh. viii. 4 ; and from that time the 
priest has never had his beth or stone. The word Sab-beth 
has survived, and has been understood as simply meaning "the 
seventh day," the day of rest. The beth, however, has survived as 
a title in Elizabeth, i.e. the priestess Eliza, who had her beth. It may 
be, however, that the word is Eli-sab-beth, God-sab-beth. If this 



96 THE SABBATH SIGH*. 



should be correct, it would come to us from that hoary antiquity 
when it was customary to address the king or firstborn prince by the 
title of God, when the office of priest was part of the royal birth- 
right. The judgment pronounced against Ephraim was that " their 
high place " shall no more be called Beth-aven but Aven. The beth 
or seat of power was to be taken away, and it was taken away in 
consequence of their great sins and wickedness. When the priest 
stood within the gilgal, he did so by virtue of his right ; his holy 
stone was there, and like the tribal princes it was " his inheritance;" 
just outside the pillar stones were " My people " the elders, and 
behind them in the outer circle stood the commonality, which was 
known as " My servants." We have noticed the sign, i.e. the beth, 
we will now review the covenant that was signified by that sign. 

We have already evidenced the fact that the day upon which Moses 
received the laws of the covenant was on the seventh day, therefore 
we can quite understand that when Jehovah, standing upon His 
sapphire stone, was about to hand the laws of the covenant to 
Moses, He should draw his special attention to the law of the 
Sabbath — a law contained in the covenant— because the obedience to 
all the laws seem to rest upon this one ; in fact, the entire code 
would be null and void were it not for paying strict attention to th 
law of the Sabbath, therefore its great importance. When Moses 
was invited to ascend the mount by Jehovah, it was to give him the 
tables of stone — the law, the Ten Commandments, and the covenant 
of Horeb, which He had written, the former for the purpose of their 
teaching the Gentiles, and the latter the children of Israel the 
covenant, as is evidenced from the following: — "Then went up 
Moses, and Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders 
of Israel : And they saw the God of Israel : and there was under 
his feet as it were a pavetl work of a sapphire stone, and as it were 

the body of heaven in his clearness And the Lord said unto 

Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there : and I will give 
thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have 
written, that thou may est teach them" Ex. xxiv. 9-12. The day that 
Moses and the elders ascend the mount is beautifully clear ; the glory 
of the Lord covers the mount, and they are able to " see the God of 
Israel standing upon his sapphire stone, as it were the body of 
heaven in his clearness " ; but the days that preceded were days of 
darkness, the cloud covering the mount, and the six days that follow 
this their first sanctified Sabbath day were days of thick darkness 
(Ex. xxiv. 16). Thus the very elements are pressed into service to 



THE SABBATH SIGN. 97 

teach the difference between the days of labour and the sanctified 
seventh day rest — the covenant Sabbath day. 

Teaching these laws of the covenant to the people was on the 
weekly anniversary of the day set apart for that purpose — that 
period of sanctified rest, the Sabbath day, hence its great im- 
portance ; for if there had been no provision made by Jehovah for a 
set time when these laws should be taught, the people would have 
been entirely ignorant of them, and therefore could not keep the 
covenant : and it was the keeping of this covenant that was to raise 
them up to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. Every blessing 
that God had promised them seemed to rest upon their setting apart 
this seventh day and sanctifying it by bringing to remembrance the 
holy covenant that they had entered into upon that day, when they 
responded, " All that the Lord hath said we will do and be obedient." 
When He first sanctified them, set them apart to be His peculiar, 
treasure, it was their natal day. It was no longer a question of faith 
in the faint tradition they had learnt of the God of Abraham, the 
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob who appeared to their fore- 
fathers in visions and in dreams ; faith had changed into realistic 
sight, the visions into demonstrated facts, and dreams into stern 
realities, for Jehovah had revealed Himself in the sight of all the 
assembled tribes. He put His foot upon the mount, it shivered even 
to its very base. A cloud of darkness covered the mount, for He 
came in the cloud, the lightning leaping and piercing the clouds 
but for a moment ; the clap of a thousand thunders heralded forth 
God was there ; and it was there they had entered into that solemn 
covenant with Him ; it was there they first received their impres- 
sions that God was holy ; it was there the law was given ; it was 
there they first learned that " the seventh day was holy" and it was 
absolutely necessary that God should exhibit His divine majesty in 
order to produce that reverence for the Sabbath day, and also for 
" the Lord of the Sabbath " ; therefore this day was to be the day 
when the perpetual covenant was to be rehearsed, and the priests who 
were to rehearse this covenant were to have their beths, and these 
were to be kept as a "perpetual sign " between God and His people 
hence these stones became the sign. It was the day upon which He 
had promised to meet with His people at the beth-el — " the house of 
the Lord," where He had promised to meet, and that to bless them. 

The temple was not the only place that God had promised to meet 
them, neither was it only in the tabernacle He was to be found. 
True, His presence was manifested by the shekinah glory over the 

H 



98 THE SABBATH SIGN. 

mercy seat; but these were not thy only places where God promised 
to meet His people. Wherever "My Name" is recorded, be 
it among the snows of Lebanon within that rude circle of twelve 
stones, with the earth raised in the centre, there will I meet them, 
if it be on the day when the Sab stands upon his beth, u to record 
My name," i.e. to read the law of the covenant ; if it be in the most 
southern part in the inheritance of Simeon I will be there ; if it be 
on the day the Sab stands upon his beth to read aloud the law ; if it 
be upon the shores of the Great Sea, I will be there ; if it be on the 
Sabbath day ; upon Mizpah hill, I will be there if you meet Me on 
the day set apart for the purpose ; in the valley between Mount 
Ebal and Gerizim I will be there if My name be recorded upon the 
great anniversary day. If your beths have been taken away by the 
conqueror it matters not, a pulpit of wood will do provided you 
assemble upon your natal day, I will be there ; if in your exile on 
the borders of the Euxine Sea, you raise your altar, and surround it 
by your pillar stones, I will be there, if you assemble upon that day 
which is the weekly anniversary of the perpetual covenant between 
Me and you ; wheresoever and whensoever you raise your altars, if 
it be as barbarian scattered among the nations, or in your island 
home (England), or among the shoals of colonies that are inhabiting 
the waste places of the earth, it matters not, for wherever you 
reverence My sanctuary, I will meet you, and that to bless. " Where- 
fore the children of Israel shall observe these Sabbaths throughout 
their generations for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me 
and them for ever, that ye may know that I the Lord do sanctify 
you ; ye shall keep the Sab-baths, therefore, for it is holy unto you." 
We have shown the difference between the sign and the thing 
signified, and it will be seen that while the Sab beths — the sign, 
belonged exclusively to the priests, yet that which was signified had 
especial reference to commonality as being a party to the covenant 
which the sign signified. And since the Israelites had covenanted 
with their God to teach the Ten Commandments to the Gentile 
world, the covenant becomes a matter of great importance to the 
Gentiles ; and it becomes a duty of every Israelite to teach the Sabbatic 
rest, and how to sanctify that rest by praising the great Creator for 
His works of creation (Fourth Command of Ex. xx). We may not 
be in possession of the sign, however ; that makes no difference to 
the covenant any more than the loss of a wedding ring would annul 
the marriage contract. It made no difference to Ezra when lie 
" stood upon the pulpit of wood and read aloud the law " ; and it made 



THE SABBATH SIGN. 99 

no "difference to our Saviour when He repaired to the house of the 
Lord— the gil-gal — as His custom was on the Sabbath day, and it 
will make no difference to the Israelite in whom there is no guile. 

The whereabouts of these holy stones is a profound mystery, but 
like the ark. with its "sapphire" stone for ik the footstool" or 
kt throne of the Most High God," is in safe keeping somewhere. 
Aaron's rod and the pot of manna, which were placed in the ark for 
a witness, has never yet been produced as a "icitness" The time, 
however, is not far distant when ;t the hidden things shall be brought 
to light" and the " Tabernacle shall yet dwell with men.' 1 " Then 
shall I appoint you (who have kept the covenant) a kingdom (says 
our king) as my Father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat 
and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones (i.e. sit 
upon royal chairs with feet upon beths or holy stones) judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel," Luke xxii. 29-31 ; and in Matt. xvi. 18, 
Christ says, " Thou are Peter (a stone, Le. Peter was to have a 
prince's beth or stone), and upon this rock (' lawgiver' or ' King's 
stone,' the throne of David promised to Christ, which was to be His 
title or sign that He was the Messiah or Christ) I will build my 
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 

The holy stone (says Topham's Archeologia x. p. 302) under the 
coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, was always used by the 
priest to stand upon during part of the service, hence this stone has 
come down to us as a Sab's beth; and so likewise the East Minster 
stone in Minster Church. This stone was used so late as 1862 ; the 
priest stood upon it when reading the lessons from a Bible chained 
to a pillar. It was customary for the congregation to stand round 
the pillar to hear the Scriptures read; but since the restoration of 
the church, which was completed in 1880, the entire church has 
been re-seated and the holy stone cemented to the pavement. In 
the days of Roman Catholicism this stone was used for the confes- 
sion ; the priest seated used one end of it as his footstool or beth, 
and the confessor knelt upon the other end confessing his sins, when 
the priest would pronounce absoiutiou. This, however, is purely a 
modern use to which the holy stone has been put to. I can trace 
nothing of this in the primeval use of these stones. These holy 
stones always did service when the king proclaimed some new law. 
then the stone went by the name of '• lawgiver." In the earliest 
times the king " stood " upon the stone. His standing upon the 
lawgiver when he gave the law made it legal and binding; and as a 
judge in pronouncing judgment he would " stand upon the stone," 

n 9 

LOFC. 



100 THE SABBATH SIGN. 



and this confirmed the sentence. (It is now customary for the judge 
to put on the black cap in passing- sentence of death.) After the 
sentence of death was passed, it was customary for the king (who 
was also the judge) to leave the gil-gal and put his right foot upon 
the neck of the condemned man before the sentence of death was 
carried out. The most important use these holy stones were put to 
was when the Seer or Sab stood upon the beth and said " Thus saith 
the Lord." The contrast between the true and the false prophet we 
have brought out very clearly in the Song of Moses, " How should 
one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except 
their rock had sold them, and their Lord had shut them up ? For 
4 their ' rock is not as ' our ' rock, even our enemies themselves 
being judges," Deut. xxxii. 30 ; and the 37th verse, " Where are their 
gods, their rock in whom they trusted ? " The appeal of the heathen 
nations to their seers as to whether they should go up against 
Israel met with the response " Thus saith the Lord (Baal), go up," 
and the result was, utter defeat, and Moses speaks of this as u their 
rock " or " beth," having sold them, and the surrounding enemies of 
Israel witnessing the defeat. It was always assumed that when a 
seer in Israel or in the surrounding nations stood upon his stone, 
that the words he spoke were the words of a god. A defeat in 
battle meant a defeat of the god and his beth. " Where are the 
gods, their rock in whom they trusted ? " David, like Moses, sings 
the praises of " our rock." " The Lord is my rock and fortress, and 
my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust." " For 
who is a god save the Lord, or who is a rock save our God. ? " " The 
Lord liveth, arid blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation 
be exalted," Psalm xviii. 2, 31, 46. " Bow down thine ear to me; 
deliver me speedily : be Thou my strong rock for an house of defence 
to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress, therefore for Thy 
name's sake lead me and guide me," Ps. xxxi. 2, 3. See also Ps. 
lxi. 2, lxii. 2, lxxi. 3, lxxxix. 26, xciv. 22. The rock here spoken of 
is the sapphire stone over the lid of the mercy seat, where God had 
promised to meet and commune with them from the mercy seat. 
The fortress is the gil-gal or circle of twelve stones, in which was 
placed the ark for safety. The outer circle of pillar stones had 
lintels resting from pillar to pillar all round, hence the Psalmist, in 
his song of victory after the battle, sings, " Lift up your heads, ye 
gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors ; and the King of 
glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory ? The Lord strong 
and mighty, the Lord rnisrhtv in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye 



THE SABBATH SIGN. 101 



gates; even lift them up ye everlasting doors; and the King of 

glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory ? The Lord of 
hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah." Ps. xxiv. 7-10. The lintel 
stones acted as doors, which had to be uplifted before the 
ark could enter ; and there is every reason to believe that it was f or 
the Bame purpose that we find the lintel stones at Stonehenge, and 
that at one time the ark was within that gil-gal. 

The East Minster stone, in my opinion, is the stone that was used 
by St. Augustine, for he never would have gained a footing unless he 
approached the Saxons as a Saxon priest, having his holy stone and 
holy rod. Having these, we can quite understand his success, and 
why the stone has come down to us as a sacred and holy stone from 
hoaiy age of antiquity. St. Patrick had his holy stone, which 
is said to have performed many wonderful miracles. Jocelinu's 
'•Life of St. Patrick." chap. iv. p. 78. 

" He proposed to travel round the whole island that he might 
convert it to Christ, and the saint being prepared to his journey, 
blessed Conallus and in memorials of himself he left in the aforesaid 
city his altar of stone for the relieving of the sick and for the work- 
ing of miracles; but when he proceeded upon his journey, the altar- 
followed, not to the eyes of any man was it visible how it was 
carried along the path of the saint." 

And in chap, clxxiv. p. 104, we read : — 

" And there remained in that place a tablet of stone whereupon 
the saint is said to have celebrated the holy mysteries, and it is 
called by the Irish Seac Phadoring, that is, the stone of St. Patrick; 
and on this stone for reverence of him, the kings of Cassel are wont 
to be crowned, and to be advanced into the throne of their kingdom." 

The idea that oui forefathers received at the foot of Sinai that 
these stones were holy (i.e. my Sab-beths ye shall reverence, for they 
are holy) will account for the reverence and miracle-working 
wonders ascribed to these stones. However, just as they had been 
used by the Druidical priests to impress the commonality that when 
they stood upon them they had a message from G-od to deliver, the 
early Christians did the same; and it is greatly to this fact that 
Christianity spread among our Saxon and Irish ancestors. And 
although we may supersede the rude "stone " by a pulpit of carved 
wood and costly platforms, yet the phrases that were used even in 
the days of the Pharaohs seem eternal, for we still have " The speech 
from the Throne," i.e. " stone." The same priestly power that was 
invested in the Phe-ra by virtue of his firstborn Bonship is still 
retained by kings and queens, who claim the same title of being the 



102 CHRIST THE SABBATH REFORMER. 

head of the Church, and strange to say that our law assumes the 
infallibility of our monarchs, who fl can do no wrong," since from 
them all authority proceeds. The very designation royal comes down 
to us from the Egyptian ra, " the sun ; " the Greek rhe, pia ; in Latin, 
rex, regis, and the feminine regina ; Italian, re ; French, roi; English 
royal. And it is this title that has given the world the idea of the 
divine right of kings to reign. Our Book of Common Prayer is 
full of this Pharaohism, and also Dr. Smith's preface to King James 
the First's translation of the Bible. While, however, our kings 
have assumed the title of Ra, and have been designated Royal, yet 
they have never been able to produce the sign — the beth— that gives 
them that title. That stone beth or throne which is the perpetual 
sign, that gives the one who stands upon it the title " Royal," is 
reserved for Him " whose right it is," who " shall be called the son 
of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne (or 
stone) of his Father David ; and of his kingdom there shall be no 
end." Thus while the Sab-beth is to be the perpetual sign of the 
covenant between God and his people, so likewise is this " lawgiver,' 
" kings stone," the perpetual sign of the covenant that God made to 
David. " I have made a covenant with my chosen ; I have swor ■. 
unto David my servant, thy seed will I establish for ever, and hy 
throne (lawgiver or king's stone) to all generations," Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CHRIST THE SABBATH REFORMER. 

In order that we may have a correct view of the Sabbath, and the 
way our Lord and Master honoured it, let us view the Phari- 
sees as they dishonoured it, and for a moment glance at the 
state of society at the time when Jesus presented Himself as " The 
Light of the World," 

The Israelitish nation had ceased to exist as a nation. Seven 
hundred and twenty years before Christ revealed Himself as the 
Messiah, the greater part of the Hebrew nation had been carried as 
captives by the Assyrian monarch, and placed upon the borders of 
the Euxine Sea, and in order to prevent their return, their land was 



CHBIST THE SABBATH KEFOBMEB. 103 

given to a colony of strangers which the Assyrian king- had placed 
in Samaria. The Jews of Judea had excited the displeasure of the 
King of Babylon, who came up against it. The rich were taken al 
captives to Babylon, while the poor were left behind, and thus ended 
the Jewish nation as a nation, for while the king remained a roya^ 
captive, the legitimate heirs to the throne were slain ; however, after 
seventy years the Jews of Judea were allowed to return, but they 
had no king, no ark of the covenant, and no Shekinah glory. They 
did not long enjoy the pleasures of peace, but submitted to the con- 
quering Alexander, and afterwards became a prey to the Egyptians, 
who profaned their holy place, and made a collection of what manu- 
scripts and writings of the prophets and the law they could mid and 
burnt them. A leader was raised up in the person of Judas 
Maccabaeus, who was able for a while to keep the country pretty 
free from foreign aggression. It, however, ultimately fell into the 
hands of the Romans, and Palestine became a Roman province. 
governed by a tributary king. The Jews were reduced to great 
destitution ; the taxes imposed were heavy, and the way in which 
they were collected were oppressive, and the collectors became 
odious to the people. The effect of all this was reaction on the part 
of the Jews. Thinking that all these calamities had overtaken 
them because they had despised the covenant of Horeb and had disre- 
garded the laws of Moses, the most part became very sanctimonious. 
The priests, who had lost all legal authority in the government in 
Judea, could not impose their own interpretation of these laws 
upon the people, and that gave rise to different schools ox thought ; 
and in this way the glorious ritual of the Hebrew nation became 
just what the heads of these different sects made it. But so long as 
they paid the tribute, the Romans cared nothing about these 
differences existing among the Jews; in fact it became more a 
source of safety than otherwise. They were quite at liberty to put 
whatever construction they pleased upon the law of Moses, for the 
power of inflicting punishment upon those who transgressed had 
departed, therefore little or no harm v, as done. The priests were 
very austere, and to show that they were the personification of 
purity itself, offered up long prayers, standing at the corner of the 
street ; and I presume the longer the prayer the more cash they got, 
for their sustenance depended entirely upon the two tribes that had 
returned from Babylon — Benjamin and Judah— for the others were 
still absent, and their place, Samaria, was occupied by the Samaritans 
and the Jews received no support from these, for they had built a 



104 CHRIST THE SABBATH REFORMER. 



temple of their own on Mount G-erizim, and their claiming Abraham 
%s their father, po excited the anger and jealoupv of thp.Tpwo fcK*f +>^ 
latter would have no dealings with the Samaritans. When we 
remember that the captivity was so complete that the Samaritans 
had to petition the Assyrian king to send one of the captives back 
— a priest — to teach them the God of the land, it being over-run 
with lions, we cannot wonder at this great antipathy on the part of 
the Jews. The laws — the covenant of Horeb, were now read by the 
priests on the Sabbath, and also the reading of the Prophets became 
an established part of the Jewish ritual, this innovation being intro- 
duced by Judas Maccabaeus, done in order to preserve the writings 
of the Prophets. This brought to the front every Sabbath the 
severe denunciations of the Prophets against Sabbath breaking, an 
institution which was a part of the "blood covenant of Horeb." That 
coupled with remedial measures introduced by Moses for a strict 
observance of the Sabbath, gave rise to fierce discussions among the 
different schools of thought as to how the Sabbath ought to be 
observed. Some conten ded that it was breaking the law if a man 
wore a shoe that had nails because that was carrying a burden, and 
a burden was not to be carried on the Sabbath ; and if a man went 
out with one shoe that was Sabbath breaking, but to wear two shoes 
was not. A loaf of bread carried by two persons was Sabbath 
breaking, but if carried by one was not. A quotation from Farrar's 
•' Life of Christ," VoL I., p. 432, will show to what extreme these 
different schools went in their observance : — 

" According to the stiff and narrow school of Shammai, no one 
on the Sabbath day may even comfort the sick or sorrowing ; even 
the preservation of life was a breaking of the Sabbath. And on the 
other hand, even to kill a flea was as bad as to kill a camel ; you 
must not walk through a stream on stilts, for you really carry the 
stilts. A woman must not go out with any ribbons on unless they 
were sewed to her dress. A false tooth must not be worn. A person 
with toothache might not rinse his mouth with vinegar, but he might 
hold it in his mouth and swallow it. No one might write down two 
letters of the alphabet. The sick might not send for a physician. 
A person with lumbago might not rub or foment the affected part. 
A cock must not wear a piece of ribbon round his leg on the 
Sabbath, for this would be to carry something. Shammai would not 
entrust a letter to a pagan after Wednesday, lest he should not have 
arrived at his destination on the Sabbath. He was occupied, we are 
told, all the week with thinking as to how he should keep the 
Sabbath. The Shammai tes held that Sabbatism applied (1st) to 
men, (2nd) to beasts, (3rd) to things. The Hillelites denied the last, 
not holding it necessary to put out a lamp which had kindled before 



CHRIST THE SABBATH REFORMER. 105 



the Sabbath, or to remove fish-nets, or to prevent the dropping of 
oil in a press. Rabbinical authorities for each of these statements 
may be found in Schottgen; Lightfoot; Keim, Gesch-Jesu, ii 297; 
Otho, Lex, Babb. s.v. " Sabbathum " ; Buxtorf, Be Synag. J-ud, pp. 
H52-356 ; Derenbourgh, Hist. Pal. 38." 

Enough has been quoted to show to what length the Jews went in 
their Sabbath observances. Although they had no power to enforce 
these foolish laws, yet there was a system of persecution carried on 
against those who ignored them ; and although there were different 
opinions as to how the Sabbath ought to be kept, yet public opinion 
was in favour of a very strict observance of all Sabbatic laws, both 
the ceremonial rites and also the remedial laws of Moses, which 
Christ came to do away with, the only difference of opinion being 
the interpretation put upon these laws by the masters of the different 
schools of thought. Having thus a clear view of public opinion 
with reference to these laws, and at the same time remembering 
that they had attributed all their national calamities to their not 
observing them, we can well understand why they should charge this 
new Teacher, the founder of this new sect, this one who claims to 
be " the Son of G-od," "the Messiah," with Sabbath breaking; and 
to them " He, the Light of the World," was a great Sabbath breaker. 
Let us examine the incident related in Matthew xii. 1-8, Mark ii. 
23-28, and in Luke vi. 1-5 :— 

" And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the 
sabbath day ; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears 
of com. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on 
the sabbath day that which is not lawful ? And he said unto them, 
Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an 
hungered, he, and they that were with him? How he entered 
into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and 
did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, 
and gave also to them which were with him ? And he said unto 
them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath : 
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." 

Here we have our Saviour's defence to the charge brought against 
Him and His apostles. David had entered the house of the Lord, 
and had eaten the shewbread and was blameless. The remedial law 
of Moses did not apply in the case of David, therefore David and 
his companions were guiltless ; and He who was David's Lord was a 
parallel case. The law did not apply, for if it did, then it applied in 
the case of David, and as David was guiltless, even so were He in 
His apostles. " The sabbath was made for man, and not man for 
the sabbath," This was putting the Sabbath upon its right basis — 



106 CHRIST THE SABBATH REFORMER. 



man first, Sabbath after. They had put the Sabbath first, man after. 
To them it was breaking the Sabbath to send for a physician, 
for to them the Sabbath was more than a man's life, but the new 
Teacher reversed this order of things, and placed man first and 
Sabbath after, and if a man wanted the physician on that day 
he was to have him, for both physician and Sabbath were < 
administer in their respective ways to the wants of man ; and to 
show His authority over all the masters and teachers of the different 
schools of thought, He claimed to be the Son of man, who is Lord 
also of the sabbath." The claim of being " the Son of man " gave 
our Saviour the legal right of being " the Lord of the Sabbath." 
This carries us back again to the primeval customs of the ancients 
in Egypt. The first begotten son of Pharaoh was " the man," and 
was spoken of as such. " Have you captured the man," meaning 
the king, was the inquiry of those who went to meet the returning 
army after the battle. It was this title of being " the man " or king 
which carried with it the title of being " the firstborn Son of God " 
that gave David the right to enter the House of the Lord and eat 
the shewbread. " Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than 
the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, 
and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I 
make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven." 
Our word " parson " has come down to us from Egypt as meaning 
exactly the same thing, i.e. the parson as meaning the person or the 
priest of the parish. In Egypt, " Have you seen the man " would 
mean in English, " Have you seen the person or parson, this latter 
word according to the learned Selden, being but a later pronuncia- 
tion of the former. Christ claiming to be " the Son of man " claims 
to be " the Parson," " the Person," " the High Priest," " the Lord of 
all the Sabs or Seers." It is this title of being "the Son of man" 
that has given rise to Unitarianism. 

The reaction in the strict observance of the Sabbath, brought 
about by the calamities they were suffering, was, however, limited. 
The Sabbath as a day of rest they undoubtedly restored, and pushed 
its observance to such extremes that they themselves were guilty of 
profaning that holy day. It is just the same with every virtue; 
push that virtue to extremes and it at once becomes a vice. It was 
just so with their Sabbath rest; they were perfectly justified in 
making that day one of rest, but when they carried it to the 
extreme the day ceased to be what God made it, i.e. a period of 
sanctified rest, they therefore were Sabbath breakers in not sanctify- 



CHRIST THE SABBATH REFORMER. 10' 



ing that period of rest. The command is most explicit. M Remember 
to keep it holy." and because the day was holy they were to rest from 
all their toil and sanctify themselves by sanctifying- that period of 
rest, because that period of rest was holy. Rest was but a secondary 
matter, and the Jews had made it the primary, and had carried it so 
far that one sect would never move from their place from the time 
the Sabbath began till it ended. They never restored that u sanctified 
day.'* for the idea of sanctification (the most important part) they 
had lost, and it was the mission of Christ to restore that important- 
part of the institution, keeping* the clay holy ; and when He set up His 
claim as being " Lord of the Sabbath," He was perfectly jtistihed in 
savin g". " Follow me. follow me." Well, let us follow Him, and see 
in what way He restored the sanctified Sabbath. 

Jesus set aside altogether the foolish notions of all the schools of 
thought with reference to their views upon the observance of the 
Sabbath of the covenant. He set aside also the remedial laws of 
Moses with reference to the Sabbath, and their interpretation. 
These laws ceased to be binding, and therefore ceased to exist from 
a legal point of view as they were under Roman rule. "When Christ 
came He came as the reformer — a teacher not having, or more 
correctly, not using his power to enforce obedience to His precepts. 
If He had come as a king, with kingly power, and asserted His right 
by exercising His power, He would have been compelled to have 
upheld the penal clauses in the Sabbatic laws of Moses as popularly 
taught ; and in this case the Sabbatic laws would have been obeyed 
simply out of fear of punishment, hence His kingdom and govern- 
ment would have been like all other governments, only risen to fall ; 
but Jesus came at a time when the civil power had been taken 
away from the Jews. He came as the end of all penal laws, and 
brought in the more excellent way, for He left it quite an open 
question. u If ye love me, then keep my commandments." And the 
only form of government that can exist, or will exist throughout 
eternity, is that form which is based upon the principle of love, or 
the doing right because we love to do it, and not from fear of 
punishment for not doing right. His claiming to be the Lord of 
the Sabbath sets us an example as to how the Sabbath ought to be 
observed, at the same time claiming to be the great authority on 
the question, and saying to the whole human race, " Follow me ; 
be ye holy, for I am holy." 

Well, let us follow this great authority to Capernaum, for this is 
the first place He teaches us how to observe the Sabbath. The 



108 CHRIST THE SABBATH REFORMER. 

congregation had assembled for religious worship in the synagogue, 
and Jesus is among them. The covenant is read, and Jesus with 
the rest respond, " All that the Lord hath said we will do and be 
obedient.'' One among the audience was possessed with an unclean 
spirit, which cried out, " What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus 
of Nazareth ? art thou come to destroy us ? I know thee who thou 
art, the Holy One of G-od." And this holy Jesus rebuked him, say 
ing, " Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean 
spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 
And they were all amazed, inasmuch as they questioned among 
themselves, What thing is this ? what new doctrine is this ? for wih 
authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey 
him." The service over, He accompanies James and John to the 
house of Simon and Andrew. Here Simon's wife's mother lay sick 
of a fever, and as soon as He learnt what was the matter He went 
to her bedside, took her hand and lifted her up, and the fever left 
her ; and as soon as the Sabbath had ended, multitudes gathered 
round the door, bringing their sick and those who were possessed 
with devils, and He healed them all. This was quite a new doctrine 
— man first, Sabbath observance after. This was the first time they 
were taught how to keep the Sabbath. Hitherto it had been a day 
of rest, but that rest had given place to work; but it was work for 
the relief of pain and suffering, and not for pleasure or sport, 
amusement, or money making. Christ changed the rest into a 
period of sanctified rest, and that meant work for God, and this 
means work for God's creation, for " Inasmuch as ye have done it to 
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Six days' 
work for yourself, but the seventh work for God. This is the great 
lesson taught by Jesus. Yes, this great Physician, who never lost a 
case, never charged a penny, but did all His work for the glory of 
His Father. Would it not be Christlike for physicians to do the 
same at least one day in seven ? 

On the next occasion, which is related in John vi. 18, Jesus not 
only heals the impotent man, but said unto him, " Take up thy bed 
and walk," and in His defence said, " My Father worketh hitherto 
and I work." The Sabbath of Jesus was a day of work, but that 
work was to undo the heavy burdens and let the captives go free. 
A period of sanctified rest from all secular work was necessary in 
order to do works of mercy and love. God had promised to be 
wherever they erected their altar, and if they met Him on the 
Sabbath, He would bestow His blessing on them, which meant that 



CHRIST THB SABBAm bKFOEMES. lOVf 

the fruits of the earth would yield their increase, and that He would 
take away sickness from their midst. This was God's work, and 
this was how God had covenanted with the Israelites at Horeb 
to spend the Sabbath. They were taught the great lesson that it 
was absolutely necessary, in order to have a good harvest, to 
invoke the blessing of God on the Sabbath day upon what they 
had done during the six days' work, sowing seed, etc., and attending 
to it in order to secure a good crop. They were to do their work on 
six days, but had to rest on the seventh ; and in response to the 
assembled tribe who had gathered around the house of the Lord, 
God would do His part in order to make the fruit yield their increase, 
and that part was in blessing it, hence it was His work. And as 
God works Jesus worked, not secular works, but heavenly works; 
for as God bestows His blessing in doing good, so Jesus bestowed 
His blessing in doing good ; and if we follow Him our Sabbath will 
be a day in which we shall rest from all our worldly labours, repair 
to the house of the Lord, and, like Jesus, rehearse the covenant, and 
ask Him to bless us ; and when we have received our blessing, then we 
are to bless others, for "the poor ye always have with you," and 
" freely ye have received, freely give." Let us be the means of being 
a blessing to all around us, and to those with whom we are brought 
in contact ; for we are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, 
that is, if we are the descendants of those upon which the blood of 
the covenant was sprinkled, our duty is clear, for we are to blossom, 
to bud, and to fill the face of the world with fruit. And this can 
only be done by our waiting upon the great Jehovah, when He stands 
upon His sapphire stone and ask, as a kingdom of priests on behalf 
of the human race, that He may bless the fruits of the earth, for 
whatever He bestows, He bestows through this kingdom of priests, 
His holy nation ; therefore in Abraham's seed will all the families of 
the earth be blessed. 

When about to restore the withered hand, He asked the bystanders 
this question, ' ' Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath day, or to do 
evil, to save life or to kill ? " They could not answer Him, and He 
healed the withered hand. At another time a poor afflicted woman, 
who had heard of Jesus, makes her way to the synagogue, and as 
His custom was He was teaching on the Sabbath. His eye alights 
upon that deformed child of Abraham, and without waiting to be 
asked, He laid His hands upon her, and she became whole. The 
ruler of the synagogue upbraids Him. Equal to the occasion, the 
Lord said unto him, " Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on 



11ft ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away 
to watering; and ought not this woman, being a daughter of 
Abraham, whom satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed 
from this bond on the sabbath day ? " His argument was conclusive ; 
His adversaries were ashamed, and all the people rejoiced for all the 
glorious things that were done by Him. It is clear that the guiding 
principle laid down by Jesus for us to observe the Sabbath is to 
repair to the house of God and rehearse the covenant, and so seek 
God's blessing, to devote what time we have in doing good, visiting 
the sick; and this is the keeping of the " Christ's Sabbath." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ABE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

One among the many objections which is urged by the advocates of 
the Sunday Society is that the Ten Commandments contain both 
moral, positive, and ceremonial precepts ; and that while some of 
the Commandments are binding, notably those which are moral* 
others are not such, as the law of the Sabbath, which they say is 
but a Jewish ritual, which had reference to the seventh day and not 
to the first, and therefore not binding upon Christians, and that they 
were never binding on Gentiles. Among the many who have advo- 
cated this view, none has done so with greater force than the late 
Archbishop Whateley in his essay " On the Abolition of the Law,'' 
from which we quote the following : — 

" The very law itself indicates on the face of it that the whole of 
its precepts were intended for the Israelites exclusively (on which 
supposition they cannot of course be, by their own authority, binding 
upon Christians), not only from the intermixture of civil and cere- 
monial precepts with moral, but from the very terms in which these 
last are delivered. For instance, there cannot be any duties more 
clearly of universal obligation than that of the worship of the one 
true God alone, and that of honouring parents ; yet the .precepts for 
both of these are so delivered as to address them to the children of 
Israel exclusively ; 4 1 am the Lord thy God, who brouyht thee out of 
the land of /Egypt, ont of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have 
have no other gods but me'; and again, ' Honour thy father and 
thy mother, that that thy days may be long in the land which the 
Lord thy God giveth thee. 1 

" The simplest and clearest way, then, of stating the case with 
respect to the present question is to lay down on the one hand that 



ABB THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? Ill 



the Mosaic laws were limited both to the nation of Israelites and to 
the period before the G-ospel ; but on the other hand, that the natural 
principles of morality which (among* other things; it inculcates are 
from its own character of universal obligation: that is, on the one 
hand no Christian man (as our article expresses it) is free from the 
obedience from the commands which are called moral ; so on the 
other hand it is not because they are commands of the Mosaic law 
that he is bound to obey them, but because they are moral. Indeed 
there are numerous precepts in the laws ; for instance, of Solon and 
Mahomet, from a conformity to which no Christian can pretend 
exemption ; yet though we are bound to practice almsgiving and 
several other duties there enjoined, and to abstain from murder, for 
instance, and false witness, which these lawgivers forbid, no one 
would say that a part of the Koran is binding on Christians, since 
their conduct is determined, not by the authority of the Koran, but 
by the nature of the case." 

The arguments of Archbishop Whateley are identical with those 
pressed into service by Luther, Cranmer, Ridley, Chillingworth, 
Haylin, Taylor, Warburton, Paley, Arnold, Alford, Standley, Horsey i 
and among the Nonconformists, Baxter, Milton, the Quaker Barclay, 
and we may say all Nonconformists of every denomination (except- 
ing the seventh day Baptist), and la-t but not least Pope St. Pius V., 
as will be seen on reference to the Roman Catechism, prepared by 
him for the guidance of parish priests in their ministrations to the 
people, and universally used for this purpose, under papal sanction, 
at the present day. The Fourth Commandment, counted third in 
the Romish Church, is quoted literally, and is so far accepted, like 
our Church of England, by the highest authority in that Church. 
And if the popes and the advocates of the secularising of our 
Sunday had but acted upon the advice of Eusebius, who said, " Let 
not anything that is written be blotted out, but speak what is 
written, and the strife will be abandoned " (Valesius's " Life and 
Writings of Eusebius") all controversy would be at an end; but 
unfortunately popes and divines are not satisfied with the com- 
mandments as they came written by the finger of God Himself, but 
insist upon the consciences of men, that they have a right to make 
catechisms, to abiogate one commandment, and to enforce another in 
its place, or abrogate the whole on the plea that they are Mosaic and 
Jewish. The Roman " Catechismus ad Parochos," Part iii. chap. 4, 
and quoted by Dr. Rule, "Sabbath," p. 126, teaches the following :_— 

" 1. That this (4th) Commandment of the law prescribes the exter- 
nal worship which we owe to God, it follows naturally from the First 
Commandment, for we cannot but venerate with external act Him 
whom we inwardly adore ; and as this cannot easily be done by those 



1 12 ABE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 



who are immersed in worldly business, a certain time was appointed 
when such acts may be conveniently performed. 

" 2. That as this Commandment is of the kind to produce wonder- 
fully good effects, it is very important that the priest should explain 
it well. The first word, ' Remember,' should move him to greater 
diligence. He should remind the faithful that they are to remember 
it, and to that end frequently admonish and instruct them. The 
faithful observance of this Commandment will help them to keep all 
the others ; it will help them, because the more careful they are to 
go to church on feast days to hear the word of G-od, and be instructed 
in His laws, the more heartily will they keep them all . . . 

3. " Princes and magistrates have to be admonished and exhorted 
that in aU that concern the worship of God, they help with their 
authority the prelates of the Church, and command the people to 
obey the precepts of the priests. They must teach the people in 
what respects this Commandment agrees with the others, and how 
it differs from them ; for by this means they will know why we do 
not observe the Sabbath, but the Lord's day, and keep that holy. 

11 4. That the difference of this Commandment from the others is 
clear, for unlike this, the other precepts of the Decalogue are 
natural, perpetual, and cannot vary ; hence it follows that, although 
the Law of Moses is abrogated, the Christian people still keep the 
Commandments that are in the two tables, not because Moses com- 
manded, but because they are in agreement with nature, by force of 
which men are impelled to keep them. But this command to keep 
the Sabbath, if we consider the time appointed is not fixed and con- 
stant, but may be changed. It (the Commandment) is not moral, 
but ceremonial, for we are neither taught or led by nature to 
worship G-od on that day more than on any other ; but the people of 
Israel began to keep the Sabbath day from the time when they were 
set free from slavery under Pharaoh. 

" 5. On the death of Christ, when the other Hebrew observances 
and ceremonies became obsolete, the observance of the Sabbath was 
also taken away. It passed away with all the other shadows. With 
reference to it the Apostle wrote to the Galatians, ' Ye observe days 
and months, and times, and years : I am afraid of you, that I have 
bestowed upon you labour in vain.' He writes the same to the 
Colossians. 

" 6. But this Commandment agrees not with the others in any rite 
or ceremony except in so far as it has anything in it which pertains 
to manners and the law of nature; for the worship of God and 
■religion, which is expressed in this Commandment, corresponds with 
that in nature, which prompts us to employ a few hours in matters 
relating to the worship of God. The heathens do this, and it is 
natural in man to devote some time to eating and drinking, to rest, 
to sleep, and such like. 

11 7. For this reason the Apostles determined to consecrate to 
divine worship that one day of the seven, which is first, and which 
they called the Lord's day • . . ." 



ABB THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 113 

In justice, however, to Whateley, Alford, and Arnold, these gentle- 
men differ from the others mentioned and the writer of the Roman 
Catechism, in that they deny that the Apostles changed the day, or 
that the Apostles had the right to change the day. Whateley 
('• Thoughts on the' Sabbath," p. 9) writes very emphatic : — 
f " Now, surely, it is presumption to say that we are at liberty to 
alter a divine command whose authority we admit to be binding 
apon us on the ground that it matters not whether the day, or that 
we set apart as a Sabbath provided we obey the divine injunction to 
observe a Sabbath. One of the recorded offences we should remem- 
ber of " Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin," was his 
instituting a feast unto the Lord on the fifteenth day of the tenth 
month, even the day that he had devised of his own heart. The 
Samaritans, who worshipped they knew not what, acted on a similar 
principle when they built a temple on Mount G-erizim, though that 
was not ' the place which the Lord had chosen to put his name 
there.' So perhaps did Naaman the Syrian, when he proposed to 
wash in the rivers of Damascus and be clean, instead of Jordan. 
One river is as good as another ; one mountain as good as another ; 
one day as good as another except when there is a divine command 
which specifies one, and then it is our part not to alter or question a 
divine command, but to consider whether it extends to us, and if it 
does to obey it." 

No one can question this argument of Whateley's. He proceeds 
to assert, however, that the Sabbatic .law does not extend to us, and 
therefore not binding. From " Introductory Lessons on the History 
of our Religious Worship," p. 136, we quote the following : — 

" Neither the Fourth Commandment nor any other law enjoining 
the observance of the seventh day of the week in memory of the 
close of the Creation, is regarded by Christians as binding on them, 
for the Apostles themselves, as Jews, kept the Sabbath day, and also 
as Christians assembled for worship on the Lord's day, never made a 
change from the seventh to the first ; and no church consisting of 
uninspired men has any right to change any divine ordinance 
designed for them. But the Mosaic law having come to an end, and 
moreover having never been binding upon the G-entiles, a Christian 
Church is left to determine what day shall be set apart." 

Dean Alford remarks, in his second letter to Mr. Spirllng, pp. 12-13, 
quoted by Hessey in his " Notes," p. 439 : — 

"If I were disposed to turn the tables— which I am not, for I as 
little believe my Sabbatarian friends guilty of disingenuousness as 
they me— might I not fairly say, To which of the" two does the 
charge more properly apply ?— to myself, who, regarding the Com- 
mandment as not binding in its literal sense, read it as interpreted 
by the Gospel and the Church, or to them, who, regarding it strictly 
and literally obligatory on them, obey its commands to observe one 

I 



114 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



prescribed day for a definite assigned reason and in a strictly specified 
manner by observing another day for a totally different reason 
and in a manner entirely their own, first praying that they may keep 
the law, then abrogating every word of it, substituting a new law of 
their own, and investing it with the authority of the other." 

Also Dr. Arnold's " Sermons," Vol. III., p. 286:— 
11 The question is, Are we right in keeping the Sunday, or are we 
not right ? The Fourth Commandment does not answer the 
question by itself. No, not though it be used every Sunday in our 
service, for we do not keep the Fourth Commandment, seeing that we 
do not keep holy the seventh day, but the first, and not the day G-od 
rested from all His works, but the day He raised up Jesus from the 
dead. And as to altering a command of the law, he must know 
little of the obedience which the law requires who could think that 
men might alter it at their own discretion." 

These views are ably supported by a writer in the " Edinburgh 
Review," Vol. XCIL, pp. 349-350, October, 1850, quoted and endorsed 
by Mr. R. Cox in his " Sabbath Laws," p. 214, who says : — 

" Consider also the weekly recitation of the Fourth Command- 
ment and the response to it without one word of comment or 
qualification (thank G-od it is so) on the part of the Church, not- 
withstanding that nobody believes a Jewish Sabbath to be either 
binding on Christians or possible in modern life; and not the strictest 
Puritan of us all, not Scotland herself, even thinks of observing it 
as such. The immense variance between the letter of the law and 
the most rigid practicable interpretation of it confounds all English 
ideas of Sabbath keeping, and Sabbath breaking creates unnecessarily 
an awful malum prohibitum, and lays snares in the paths of innu- 
merable honest and devout men and women. If the Fourth Com- 
mandment be indeed a law of the Christians, it is too certain that 
all Christians deliberately break it ; but if it be a law of the Jews 
only, then all the scandal is chargeable upon those who profess to 
have Divine truth in their keeping, and who recite this weekly 
from the altar as if it were a part of the Sermon on the Mount." 

If the arguments of these gentlemen were not purely unwarrant- 
able assertions, not having the slightest foundation in fact, but 
(what they appear to be) the truth pure and simple, then all further 
argument would be at an end ; and doubtless when these gentlemen 
penned these statements they were under the delusion that they had 
said the last word that could be said, and that the Sabbatic institu- 
tion was dead, and that they had faithfully done their duty in con- 
signing to oblivion all reverence for " the sabbath of the Lord thy 
God." 

While, however, we are prepared to admit that they have done 
their work with all their scholastic force and powers of reasoning. 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 115 



convincing" and converting millions to regard " God's holy day " as an 
institution of the past, dead, and ought to be for ever buried, yet 
they have not convinced nor converted all, for there are still the 
proverbial seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to "Baal, 
and there is still a prophet of the Lord in Israel. 
•* Let us carefully examine and pass in review the arguments of 
these writers. 

1. We are told that the Law (the Ten Commandments) were 
abolished by the Gospel. 

2. That the Commandments contain civil, moral, and ceremonial 
precepts : that the moral precepts are binding, not because they are 
the laws of God, but because they are natural laws, binding upon all 
the human race alike. 

3. That the Fourth Commandment is a Jewish ritual or cere- 
monial law ; and not being moral, or suggested by nature, is not 
binding upon mankind. 

4. That the Law (the Ten Commandments) was never obligatory 
upon the Gentiles, but that the Law (the internal evidence) 
addresses itself exclusively to the Israelites. 

6. That the Law having been abolished, the Church is left to 
choose a day, and also how that day ought to be observed. 

6. That the Church of England is wrong in reading Sunday after 
Sunday the Fourth Commandment without qualification or words of 
comment, and inviting her congregation to respond " Lord incline 

our hearts to keep this law;" while they abrogate every word of it 
by observing another -day for a totally different reason. 

7. That we are keeping the first day, and that the Sabbatical law 
of the seventh day has never been transferred to the first ; therefore 
the Sabbatic law is not obligatory upon us Christians. 

Are the Ten Commandments Abolished f 
Archbishop Whateley, in his essay on the " Abolition of the Law,' 
quoted (p. 110), says they are. If so, we ask, Who abrogated them ? 
when were they abrogated ? where were they abrogated ? and why 
were they abrogated ? For the answers to these questions we have 
searched in vain the writings of Whateley, Arnold, Alf ord, Paley, 
Cranmer, Ridley, Chillingworth, Heylin, Horsey, Luther, Baxter, 
Milton, Barclay, Brooke Lambert, Standley, Spurgeon, Moody, and 
the singing evangelist, Ira D. Sankey, this latter gentleman having 
sung out the Laws of God (the Ten Commandments) from thousands 
of homes both in England and America by introducing his gospel : 



116 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 



44 Free from the law, O happy condition, 
Jesus has bled, and there is remission: 
Cursed by the law, and bruised by the fall, 
Grace has redeemed us once for alL" 
C. — Once for all, O sinner, receive it, 
Once for all, brother, believe it; 
Cling to the Cross, the burden will fall, 
Christ hath redeemed us once for all. 

Songs and Solos, Hymn 11. 

Did Jesus abolish the Law when on the Mount ? Did He not. at 
the very commencement of His ministry, say, " Think not that I am 
come to destroy the law ; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil ? " 
And did He not follow up His public declaration by further stating 
to his hearers, " For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth 
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all 
be fulfilled," Matt. v. 17-18. Has the object that God had in view 
been accomplished, when He entered into a solemn covenant on 
Mount Horeb with the elders of Israel — His firstborn — when they 
promised to teach all the families of the earth His commandments 
of Ex. xx. ? Most certainly not. The very heavens and the earth 
are to pass away before one jot or one tittle shall be taken from the 
law ui^til it has fulfilled and accomplished its purpose of being-, 
through Christ, a blessing to all the families of the earth. The 
teaching of these laws of the covenant was confined, under Moses, 
to the Levitical tribe; but under Christ this priesthood was disestab- 
lished, and Israel as a nation came into the rights and privileges of 
firstborn-ship. It became their mission since their Messiah had 
come, who was the High Priest for it was under Him — the Royal 
High Priest — they were to accomplish the work that they had 
engaged to do at Horeb. " All that the Lord had said we will do 
and be obedient." It was under His sovereign rule that they were 
to fulfil their part; and it was under His sovereignty that God 
would fulfil His part of the covenant. " Ye have seen what I did 
unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and 
brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice 
indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure 
unto me above all people : for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be 
unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation" Ex. xix. 4. This 
covenant was never fulfilled under Moses, and consequently they 
never enjoyed the birthright blessing of priesthood. But under the 
Royal High Priest this firstborn blessing is enjoyed— the blessing of 
being ll His peculiar treasure," numbered among " His kingdom of 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 117 

priests," being- a prince in " the holy nation " is the glorious privilege 
of our being brought into the relationship of being ;i sons of God.'' 

In Egypt, where our forefathers had worshipped the firstborn of 
,man and beast as gods, it became necessary, in order to put away 
this horrid worship, that the Israelites should be taught that these 
firstborn deities were not gods, so the Israelites were commanded 
to slay the male firstborn lamb, and the blood sprinkled on the door- 
posts was evidence to the destroying angel that they had put away 
this horrid worship, and so be passed over ; but where there was no 
blood the firstborn of man and beast was slain. And furthermore, 
the slaying the male lamb became an act of redemption, and accepted 
as such by Jehovah ; for had not the lamb been slain, most certainly 
the firstborn would. However, God having accepted the redemption 
and the firstborn giving up his deification as a god to be worshipped, 
they became the firstborn to Jehovah ; and as such it gave them the 
right of being priests of the Most High God, and as such they 
became in the sanctuary. 

It was the elders, these firstborns, who had been redeemed by the 
slaying of a firstborn lamb, and who had given up their claim to 
deification that God entered into a covenant with as His priests. 
Six firstborn elders from each tribe ascends the mount with Moses, 
Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu. " And they saw the God of Israel : and 
there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire 
stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And 
upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand; also 
they saw God, and did eat and drink," Ex. xxiv. 10, 11. God not 
laying His hand upon the nobles or elders of Israel, withheld from 
them that legal authority of making laws in His name as their God* 
This right of speaking in God's name only belonged to the Royal 
High Priest, the firstborn son of God. the Messiah ; therefore not 
one of the seventy elders, who were all firstborns, or Moses, Aaron, 
Nadab, or Abihu (for Aaron, Moses, and Abihu were not firstborn, 
and Nadab was not in a direct line of firstbomship), could claim 
"the laying on of hands," which was cusomary when one was 
invested with authority, hence " upon the nobles of Israel he laid 
not his hand." The researches made by the learned General 
Valiancy, and quoted by Geoffrey Higgins, " Celtic Druids/' p. L28 
throw a flood of light upon the primeval custom of transferring' 
authority by the laying on of hands : — 

"The word smack we understand in Yorkshire very well. A 
naughty or saucy boy at school often gets a smack on the face. And 



118 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



this is not the only advantage we shall reap by such investigations. 
3Tany passages in the writings of the inspired penmen become 
elucidated thereby. Religious customs and ceremonies, borrowed by 
the Jews from idolatrous nations in the East, are often expressed by 
a s-ingle word, the true signification of which is not to be found in 
the Hebrew, Chaldean, or Arabic languages. The same words are 
frequently to be met with in the Irish MSS., denoting the same 
ceremony, and this so described as to leave no room for conjecture. 
For example, samac, smac, smag in Irish is the palm of the hand. 
At the coronation of a king, or the ordination of a priest, the chief 
priest passes the palms of both hands down the temples of the 
prince or priest, and he was then said to be smac'd, hence smacd or 
smart signifies authority, one set over the people; crioch- smac 'd, a 
government, from crioch, a territory ; and as a verb smacdam is to 
govern the same word, is used by Moses when he puts Joshua in 
authority with the same ceremony. ' And Joshua the son of Nun 
was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses smc smach'd laying his 
hands upon him : and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and 
did as the Lord commanded Moses.' " Deut. xxxiv. 9. 

The office of priesthood, which always went with the firstborn 

was afterwards altered by Moses after the death of Nadab and 
Abihu (Moses, however, never could have made this alteration had 
the God of Israel laid His hands (or smacd) the elders, investing 
them with legal priestly authority), and the firstborn priests, who 
Lad done duty at the sanctuary, investing the Levites with priestly 
authority by laying their hands on them. In the place of the firstborn 
priests Moses appoints the whole tribe of Levi to assist Aaron and 
his sons in public worship, Num. iii. 1, 2; whilst the male firstborns 
among all the tribes were to be presented in the temple when a 
month old, and were to be redeemed according to the estimation 
of the priests, Ex. xiii. 12 : Num. xvii. 16. So under Moses the 
firstborn was stripped of his birthright office of priesthood, the 
obvious reason being that since these firstborns had been worshipped 
as gods, and was actually called gods, as is evidenced by reference to 
Ex. xxxi. 6. Moses found it almost impossible to disestablish this 
Pharaohism while the firstborn retained the office of priests ; and 
for this purpose the tribe of Levi was chosen in their place, hence 
the selection of this priesthood was but a remedial measure intro- 
duced by Moses, On the appearing of the only-begotten Son of 
God the Levitical priesthood was disestablished, the only-begotten 
Son, the firstborn, higher than all the princes of the earth, claiming 
all the offices vested in Him— king, priest, and judge. By virtue of 
liis birthright He not only disestablished the Levitical priesthood, 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 119 

: ,b abolished every law made by Moses, Aaron, the firstborn elders, 
and princes, and this by virtue of their not having been smacd- 
Christ, however, did not receive his authority of government as 
Joshua received his, by the laying on of hands, or being smacd' 
since He received His authority by virtue of His birthright. " The 
government shall be upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called 
Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace 
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his king- 
dom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice 
from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will 
perform this," Isaiah ix. 6-7. The reference to the Messiah being 
4 ' the everlasting Father," "the Mighty God," is confusing to the 
uninstructed, but being " the only-begotten Son of God," He becomes 
as such "the everlasting Father-King" (not Father God) "the 
everlasting God " on earth, but not the Mighty God in heaven. 
These were all earthly titles pertaining to His government here, 
therefore the entire government is (wish it was), or more correctly 
shall be upon His shoulder. Moses distinctly recognised this claim. 
"The Lord thy God will raise np unto thee a Prophet from the 
midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; unto him ye shall 
hearken ... I will raise them a Prophet from among their brethren, 
like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall 
speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come 
to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he 
shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet 
which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not 
commanded to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, 
even that prophet shall die," Deut. xviii. 15-20. From this it is 
clear that Christ had the legal right to dis-establish all the Mosaic 
laws — the laws with reference to lighting fires on the Sabbath, the 
eye for eye, tooth for a tooth, hate your enemies, and every other 
law. The introductory phrase, " Thus saith the Lord," would lead 
us to suppose that these laws were commands of God to Moses, but 
it was not so ; it was simply the decision of the elders and princes. 
The man found gathering sticks on the Sabbath was put in ward 
until it was declared what should be done unto him. In seeking 
the decision before the judges, it was called "Enquiring of God," 
Ex. xviii. 15, and their ver ict was prefaced with, " Thus saith the 
Lord." or " The Lord said unto Moses, the man shall surely be put to 
death." There can be but little doubt that the intention of the 



120 ABB THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 

man who picked up sticks was to offer sacrifice on the Sabbath to 
the god in whose land he was then dwelling ; and the sticks were to 
light the sacrificial fire. It was to prevent the sacrificial fires that 
the law was made. " Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habi- 
tations on the sabbath day," Ex. xxxv. 3 ; and it was for lighting a 
strange fire, or offering up sacrifices to strange gods that Nadab 
and Abihu were slain. We know that the sacrificial fires were 
attended to and animals slain (Num. xxviii. 9, 10), but this was done by 
the priests to the Most High God, those who had been sanctified for 
this purpose, and done on " His day " as a part of the worship due 
to Him, the double sacrifice being on behalf of the commonality on 
the one part, and for the priests on the other part, hence the two 
male lambs offered on the Sabbath. The princes, however, by virtue 
of their birthright, assumed to have had the authority to speak 
" the word of the Lord " as gods. And this is clearly referred to by 
Christ in His defence to the Jews. " Is it not written in your law— 
in contradistinction to God's law, the Ten Commandments — I said 
ye are gods ? If ye call them gods unto whom the word of God 
came, and the Scriptures cannot be broken, say ye of him, thou 
blasphemest because I said I am the Son of God," John x. 34-36. 
The firstborn princes certainly exercised their power and authority 
over Joshua (Josh. ix. 15), to act for the commonality (com. 1 Chron. 
xxvii. 16-22) ; and in later times the firstborn princes of Judah 
exercised control over both king and priests, Jer. xxvi. 10-21 ; 
xxxviii. 4, 5. Thus while they lost their priestly office under the 
Mosaic law, they never lost the office of prince and judge (Ex. ii. 11.) 
And it was the retaining of these offices that they assumed that 
their verdict was " Thus saith the Lord," and in fact the very same 
Hebrew word, Elohim, applied to them, and in precisely the same 
way as it was applied to God Himself. And in this way the God of 
love has been charged with all the brutal laws, eye for eye, tooth for 
a tooth, when in point of fact God cannot be charged with any law 
except the Ten Commandments. These and these alone emanated 
from Him. 

While, however, as King of Israel — David's Lord, abolished all 
civil laws, and, as High Priest, all ceremonial laws, He never 
abolished the covenant. His kingly or priestly power never gave 
Him the authority to annul the covenant made by the Most High 
God; and more, He never came to abolish it, but to fulfil it, and to 
teach us how to fulfil it; for when He set up His kingdom, and 
having but a few followers, He said, " Fear not, little flock, it is 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 121 

your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." What 
kingdom was this but the " kingdom of priests, that holy nation," 
the fulfilling of the conditions of the covenant that God had 
promised if they would " obey his voice and keep his covenant ? " 
Ex. xix. 4. What stronger language could He use than that found 
in Matt. v. 17-19, " Think not that I am come to destroy the law, 
or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily 
I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle 
shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Who- 
soever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and 
shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven ; 
but whosoever shall do (obey the covenant of Horeb, the Ten Com- 
mandments of Deut. v.) and teach them (the Commandments of 
Ex. xx. to the Gentile world), the same shall be called great in the 
kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, except your righteous- 
ness (in keeping the covenant and teaching the Commandments of 
Ex. xx.) shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees 
(in this respect), ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." The conjunction "for" connects verse 19 with verse 20, 
and makes our eternal salvation depend upon our obeying the 
covenant more rightously than it was observed by the Scribes and 
Pharisees. Not, however, that we can of ourselves claim eternal life 
on our keeping the covenant, for no promise of eternal life was ever 
given, but only that we should be a " kingdom of priests and a holy 
nation." But since eternal life is the gift of God (" For by grace 
are ye saved i hrough faith, and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift 
of God," Eph. ii. 8), this grace is only extended to those whose 
righteousness excel the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, 
and that as a reward pure and simple ; therefore any attempt to 
abolish the law of God on our part, when He has never done so, but 
confirmed it by and through " His only begotten Son," who " became 
obedient unto death," means that those who abolish it and sing 

" Free from the law, O happy condition," 
will find that their condition, will not be so very happy, since they 
will have lost the eternal life, as the reward for not keeping the 
covenant. This is clear and conclusive from the writings of all the 
Apostles from the time that our Saviour uttered these words to the 
last chapter of Rev. verse 14, "Blessed are they that do his com- 
mandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may 
enter in through the gate into the city." The converse to this must 
be that those who have not kept the commandments will not have a 



122 ABE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

right to the tree of life, or an entrance into the beautiful city. 
What our Saviour did abolish was their way of keeping- the 
covenant, and tnught true spiritual obedience, and that from the 
heart. The very look at a woman, to lust after ^her, was to commit 
adultery with her in his heart, and hence breaking the covenant. 
The very prayer our Lord taught His disciples breathes a spirit of 
perfect obedience to these laws of God, the Ten Commandments. 
" Thy kingdom come (when ?), Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven." What do we know of the will of God apart from His 
commandments ? " This is the will of God, that we should keep his 
commandments," therefore the petition " Thy will be done " means 
that the commandments of God were to be obeyed on earth as they 
are in heaven ; and this could not be accomplished unless we fulfil 
our part of the contract at Horeb, and teach them, not, however, 
enforcing obedience as Moses did, by coercive measures, the eye for 
an eye policy, but by introducing God as a God of love; and love to 
do right because it is right so to do is the way, that we are to teach 
these commandments, and as a reward we shall gain eternal life. 
" Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," said the 
greatest authority the world has ever seen ; aDd John, in his first 
Epistle, ch. iii. v. 7, says, " He that doeth righteousness is righteous,'* 
and we follow this up by saying that this righteousness must be the 
righteousness of God, and not our idea of righteousness. And what 
is this but making our lives, our wealth, and everything we possess 
subservient to the establishment of the kingdom of God on the 
earth ? 

Christ says, " Ye cannot serve two masters : ye cannot serve God 
and mammon." If the object of our life is wealth, fame, millitary 
glory, then we cannot serve God at the same time; simply impossible, 
although millions are trying to do it. But if we seek first the 
kingdom God (that is, to seek first to establish the kingdom of God) 
and His righteousness, we shall not think about abolishing His laws, 
the Ten Commandments. " Not every one that saith unto me Lord, 
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth 
(continues to do) the will of my Father in heaven." Again, when 
the young man asked what he was to do to have eternal life, Jesus 
referred him to the covenant — the Ten Commandments — enumerat- 
ing several of them (Mark x. 19). And if he had intended to abro- 
gate them, He never would have quoted them. To have done so 
would have been misleading; and no one would charge the only- 
begotten Son of God, the Messiah, of this — not even Archbishop 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 123 

Whately himself. On another occasion the Pharisees tempted 
Christ, saying", "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the 

law ? " The reply was, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the 
first and great commandment ; and the second is like unto it, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments 
hang all the law and the prophets," Matt. xxii. 36-40. Here we have 
a summary of the covenant — man's duty towards God first, and 
then man's duty towards his neighbour. And on another occasion 
when the Pharisees complained to Jesus about the non-observance 
of the traditional customs of the washing of hands, etc., by the 
disciples, what is the language of Jesus ? Let us see. " He answered 
and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, 
as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their 
heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teach- 
ing for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the 
commandments of God, ye hold the traditions of men, as the washing 
of pots and cups ; and many other such like things ye do. And he 
said unto them, Full well ye reject (or frustrate) the commandments 
of God, that ye may keep your own tradition;' Mark vii. 6-S. Is this 
the language of One who came to abolish the law — the Ten Com- 
mandments ? Most certainly not; but the language of One who 
came to establish it as pre-eminently above all the traditional 
customs. And most certainly the Blessed Redeemer never sang to 
these Pharisees or any one else — 

11 Free from the law, happy condition," 
but 

11 Free from tradition, this was Christ's mission, 

Obedience to law, O happy condition ; 

Eternal life is the gift by God's grace, 

If God's law is in the hearts of the whole human race." 

The miracles performed by Jesus on the Sabbath did not abrogate 
the law. since there was no clause in the Fourth Commandment 
that would prevent Him from doing what He did ; but had He not 
done them He could not have sanctified that rest which the Fourth 
Commandment demanded; for since He had the power to give the 
multitude who were brought to Him, rest from the agonising pain 
they were in, by virtue of their afflictions, and that without actual 
labour on His part, but only to say the word, He was bound by the 
spirit as well as by the letter of that command to give that rest, 
precisely in the same way that a master was bound to give his 



J 24 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

servants and cattle rest — for the law demanded both mental and 
physical rest; therefore while it was lawful to do good every day, it 
was superlatively lawful to do good (to cast out devils, give sight to 
the blind, restore the withered hand, etc.,) on the Sabbath day. This 
was true obedience to the great second command, i.e. love your 
neighbour. This was an earnest of what obedience to the law would 
do when it had fulfilled its purpose— a complete redemption from 
all pain and sickness. " And the ransomed of the Lord shall return* 
and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads* 
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
away," Isaiah xxxv. 10. 

Some apply this, and many other similar passages, to a spiritual 
and ethereal meaning, but how can this be when the ran-omed of 
the Lord is to " return " to Zion, with songs and eveilasting joy ? 
Return is to go back, and how can we return to heaven if we never 
came from there? This was said by the prophet when the Israelites 
were being carried captive by the Assyrian hosts for disregarding 
the covenant they had entered into with their God at Horeb. The 
prophet, addressing those who were in the deepest distress (those 
who were being banished from their homes, sighing and sorrowiug, 
and seeing with his prophetic eye the time when the new covenant 
would be made, when the laws would be written in their hearts) in 
these words of comfort cheers up the departing captives, and tells 
them that a time would come when they would " return with songs 
and everlasting joy , when sorrowing and sighing shall flee away.'' 
That they would return with the law written on their hearts is con- 
clusive from Jeremiah xxxi. 31-36 : — 

" Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah : 
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the 
day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land 
of Egypt; which my covenant they break, although I was an 
husband unto them, saith the Lord : But this shall be the covenant 
that I will make with the house of Israel : After those days, saith 
the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in 
their hearts ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every 
man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for they shall all know 
me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the 
Lord : For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their 
sin no more. Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light 
by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light 
by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar The 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 125 

Lord of hosts is his name : If those ordinances depart from before 
me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from 
being a nation before me for ever." 

Since the ordinance of the moon and the stars shine by night, and 
the sun shines by day, these exile captives exist somewhere as a 
nation, and will return under the new covenant, with the laws (the 
Ten Commandments of Deut. v.) " in their inward parts and written 
in their hearts ; " therefore from this it is conclusive that as long as 
the sun shines in the heavens, so long will the laws of Cod (the Ten 
Commandments) exist, and also the exiled tribes, the firstborn, as a 
nation, and as the aristocracy of the earth, all knowing God, from 
the least to the greatest. The Apostle Paul, quoting this propb cy 
to the Hebrews (eh. viii.) argues the point of Loth the old and the 
new covenants : " If the old covenant was faultless, then should no 
place be found for the second. ... In that he s.ith a Lew covenant, 
he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and wuxeth 
old is ready to vanish away." The old covenant here referred to is 
that made by Moses, " For when Moses had spoken every precept to 
all the people, according to the law, he took the blood of calves and 
of goats with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled 
bcth the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the 
testament which God hath enjoyned unto you. Moreover, he 
sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the 
ministry, and almost all things are by the law purged with blood ; 
and without shedding of blood there is no remission," Heb. ix. 19. 
The covenant that was abolished was this covenant of blood, and all 
the laws relating thereto ; therefore there was no more necessity for 
the slaying of bulls and of goats, and all the laws relating thereto 
in the new covenant, for Christ having become the mediator of the 
new (as Moses was of the old), writes the laws (the Ten Command- 
ments) in their hearts, " For this is the covenant that I will make 
with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws 
into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and 
their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Now 
where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin,'' 
Heb. x. 16-18. 

The meaning that Paul wished to convey when he quoted this 
prophecy to the Hebrews was that a time would come, and that it 
had already come, when under the new covenant God would forgive 
sins and remember them no more ; and where there is this remission 
of sin, then there is no more need for sin offering. If Moses could 



1 26 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 



have put the laws of God in their hearts, and have written them in 
their minds, there would have been no necessity for a new covenant. 
However, since he utterly failed to do this, his laws and blood 
covenant passed away, and the new covenant has taken its place. 
We are not, however, to confound the two covenants that were 
made . -it Horeb— God's covenant and the covenant of Moses. The 
first is eterm.l, and will never pass away. It is this covenant Isaiah 
refers to when he says, " For the mountains shall depart, and the 
hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, 
neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, 
that hath mercy on thee,'' Isaiah liv. 10. And Ezekiel xvi. 59, 60, 
4 For thus saith the Lord God, I will even deal with thee as thou 
hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. 
Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of 
thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant." But 
the second has passed away. The first covenant made between God 
on the one part, and the seventy elders on the other part, was not a 
blood covenant, for no sacrifices were offered. God required none, 
and consequently none were offered. God stood upon His sapphire 
stone, and gave Moses the law, even the two tables of stone after 
He had spoken to him face to face (Deut. v. 4) ; hence these laws 
were " God's speech from the throne," " and when the elders saw the 
God of Israel standing upon His sapphire throne, they began to eat 
and to drink" God standing upon His sapphire throne, stood to the 
covenant, and this ratified it on his part : and Moses and the elders 
standing, stood to the covenant, and so ratified it on their part, 
Deut. v. 5. And when they began to eat and drink, " this feast to 
the Lord" completed the covenant. Not one drop of blood was 
shed. We read in 2 Kings xxiii. 3 of a similar covenant, where the 
king stood (on his lawgiver) by the pillar and made a covenant, 
and all the people likewise stood by the covenant, no blood being 
shed, and when the Ten Commandments were read in the gil-gals 
the people always stood, and this was called standing by the covenant, 
as meaning complete assent to the words of the covenant. God 
here leaves the matter in the hands of Moses and the elders to 
carry out the terms of that covenant, in which God had bound 
Himself on His part to bestow the following blessings : " Now, 
therefore, if ye will obey my voice, indeed, and keep my covenant 
(the covenant He had made with the elders), then ye shall be a 
peculiar treasure unto me ; for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be 
unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." Moses and the 



ABE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 127 

elders descend from the mount, erect their altars, and in their 
covenant with the commonality, assume that their God was like 
the gods of the surrounding nations, a god of vengeance; therefore 
their covenant took the form of sacrificing the gods that were 
worshipped, the firstborn of beast, etc., to the Lord their God, 
Hence they laid it down in their covenant " that without shedding 
of blood there would be no remission," therefore their obedience to 
the first commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" 
simply consisted in the wholesale slaughter of the innocent — the 
slaying and sacrificing upon their altars the firstborn gods, therefore 
transgression of the first commandment in their idea could only be 
forgiven by " the shedding of blood." 

Their ideas of true worship may be judged by their ideas of 
justice, the eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth, and hate your 
enemies was right, therefore it was but right that they should 
slaughter and sacrifice all the gods that were worshipped to the 
Lord their God. To them this was but right and just, and was con- 
sidered as a test of their true allegiance to their God. The remission 
of sins, however, by the shedding of blood was purely relative to the 
first commandment. If a man had been guilty of worshipping the 
firstborn, then there could only be remission of that sin by shedding 
of blood; but the transgression against the other commandments 
was not remitted by the shedding of blood. Sin against the second 
command, for instance, worshipping the sun, moon, and stars, was 
death by stoning ; rivers of blood shed would not get pardon for 
this sin. Therefore their obedience to this command was, that 
when they erected their pillar stones, they erected unhewn stones 
and not idol or penis stones to be worshipped, as did the surrounding 
nations ; and in some instances they plastered these unhewn stones 
over with plaster, and wrote " their " law upon them, and this was 
the law that Moses and the elders had commanded the people, say- 
ing, " Keep all the commandments which I have commanded you 
this day," Deut. xxvii. 1. These consisted of both blessings and 
curses, for upon the pillar stones of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, 
Joseph, and Benjamin were written the blessings, and upon the 
pillar stones of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali 
were written the curses. " And he (Joshua) wrote there upon the 
stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of 
the children of Israel. . . . And afterwards he read all the words of 
the law, the blessijigs and the curses, according to all that was 
written in the book of the law. There was not one word of all 



128 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

that Moses commanded which Joshua read not before all the con- 
gregation of Israel," Joshua viii. 32-35. 

If they were obedient to the covenant, then God would bless 
them, as He had promised ; but if they did not observe the covenant, 
then they were to be cursed with the most fearful curses that it is 
possible to conceive; cursed in the city, cursed in the field, cursed 
in the basket and in the store: cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, 
and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of 
thy sheep; cursed when thou comest in, and cursed when thou 
goest out. In fact the idea that Moses and the elders had of God 
was, that if His commandments were not obeyed, then He would be 
a regular bloodthirsty devil to them— one who would smite them 
with pestilence, consumption, fever, inflammation, extreme burning, 
and would pursue them with the sword, with blasting, with mildew, 
until they utterly perish. " The Lord will smite thee with the 
botch of Egypt, and with emerods, and with the scab, and with the 
itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord will smite thee 
with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart. The Lord 
shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, and with a sore botch 
that cannot be healed ; from the sole of the foot unto the top of the 
head," Deut. xxvii.-xxviii. 

Moses could never by such a covenant as this get perfect obedience 
to God's covenant — simply impossible. He had clothed his God with 
the attributes that were ascribed to the gods of the heathen, and 
the result was that the Israelites became by the law of assimilation 
like the God they were commanded to worship. And this will 
explain all the theology of the Old Testament. Since God could 
curse His enemies, David could do so, and thought he was perfectly 
justified in praying, " Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth," 
Psalm lviii. 6. And again, Psalm cix. 6-15 : — 

11 Set a wicked man over him, and let Satan stand at his right 
hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned : and let his 
prayer become sin. Let his days be few ; and let another take his 
office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let 
his children be continually vagabonds, and beg : let them seek their 
bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch 
all that he hath : and let the strangers spoil his labour. Let there 
be none to extend mercy unto him : neither let there be any to 
favour his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; and in 
the generation following let their name be blotted out. Let the 
iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord ; and let not 
the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them \>Q before the Lord 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 129 

continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the 
earth." 

This was the effect of tl-e Mosaic covenant, and it was because it 
produced these result, that it became necessary to abolish it. And 
no one had that authority but " the Messiah," " the only begofcten 
Son of God." And when He came He did so, for the whole of His 
discourse upon the Mount was directed to overthrow the old 
covenant. " Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy (Deut. xxiii. 6) : But I say 
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to 
tlem that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, 
and persecute you ; That ye may be the children of your Father 
which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust ... Be 
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect," Matt. v. 43-48. That all the Apostles understood that the 
Mosaic covenant was at an end is clear from their references. Paul 
in Col. ii. 13, 14, says, " And you, being dead in your sins, and the 
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, 
having forgiven you all trespasses : Blotting out the handwriting of 
ordinances that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing 
it to the cross." Here the Apostle was instructing the Colossians 
that Christ had the power to forgive all sins independent of the 
covenant of Moses, thereby abolishing that which required the 
shedding of blood, etc. In taking these ordinances that were against 
us out of the way He suffered the death of the cross, since it was 
by these ordinances that He was adjudged guilty of death. " We 
have a law (the Jews said to Pilate), and by our law he ought to 
die." The law that they referred to was that in Lev. xxiv. 16, 
"And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be 
put to death." Therefore from these laws (the old covenant) Christ 
hath redeemed us by His precious blood. Rev. v. 9, " Christ having 
redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse 
for us," for it is written, " Cursed is every one that hangeth on a 
tree," Gal. iii. 13. This redemption was from the curse of the law. 
There were no curses in God's law, therefore it was redemption from 
the law of Moses. 

Our blessed Lord not only abolished the old covenant, but in 
introducing the new, He became obedient to it, even unto the death 
of the cross. He not only taught, but put into practice what He 
taught, and the result was that He was brutally murdered. He 



130 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



assailed the penal laws of Moses, and at the same time exalted the 
laws of God. The priests appealed to that criminal code of Moses 
and so tinder the cover of that law they found Him guilty—" by our 
law he ought to die." Had they appealed to the law of God instead, 
Christ could not have been brought in guilty of death, for there are 
no death penalties in God's law. Again, God has never delegated His 
sovereign right to any human being to inflict punishment in His 
name. Millions have been put to death, true; but God has never 
commissioned or sanctioned it, and the mission of Christ was to reveal 
to us the true character of God, and in that revelation — the payings 
of Jesus, the sermon on the mount— we can find no authority for 
clothing God with the attributes that the Jews clothed Him with. 
The only authority they hi d was what th<> conditions of the coven- 
ant of Horeb had imposed upon them, i.e., simply " to do and tf ach 
His commandments," and as a reward they were to have an honored 
place in the government of that kingdom when it had become uni- 
versal. This, I take it, is cleai, from what cur Lord said to His 
apostles : " And I will appoint you a kingdom, as my Father hath 
appointed me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my king- 
dom, and sit on thrones (stones), judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel," Luke xxii. 29, 30. They were by virtue of this new 
covenant to have the laws written upon their heart, and this would 
entitle them to be k His peculiar treasure above all people; for 
all the earth is his, and to be a kingdom of priests and a holy 
nation.' ' 

That the people understood the question there cannot be the 
slightest doubt, for even the prayer of the thief was "L rd, 
remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom ; " that time 
when the laws (the covenant) should be written upon every heart, 
when they should all know Him from the least to the greatest. The 
breaking of bread and the drinking of the wine was to be a memorial 
ever putting them in remembrance, how He became obedient, and 
how He fulfilled the jot and tittle of the law, even to the layiug 
down His precious life, " leaving us an example that we may follow 
in his steps." Even when dying His prayer for His murderers was 
" Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And as 
the blood was shed under the old covenant for the remission of sins, 
so Christ's blood was shed under the new covenant for the remission 
of sins, Matt. xxvi. 28. What a mighty difference between the two 
covenants and the shedding of blood ! To be obedient under the old 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 131 

covenant required the slaying- of thousands of bulls, goats, and rams 
to appease the supposed wrath of an angry God — a God of vengeance 

who would not be satisfied unless the firstborn animals (the i 
were slain and sacrificed in worship. The highest conception man 
had under the old covenant was "to fear God," and that " was me 
beginning of wisdom," and the result was that all worship under 
the old covenant was through fear : that if they did not worship 
Him. then He would pursue and smite them with pestilence and 
sword. 

The blood shed under the new covenant was not the blood 
to appease an angry God, but to prove beyond all doubt the very- 
reverse— the infinite love of God. Jesus, the only begotten Sun of the 
Father, was God's gift to a world undone. " For God so loved the 
world, that he gave his only begotten Son. that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have everlasting lite.'" However, let 
Jesus speak for God and Himself. 

" Then began he to speak to the people this parable : A certain 
man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went 
into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a 
sei vant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit 
of the vineyard : but the husbandmen beat him. and sent him away 
empty. And again he sent another servant : and they beat him 
also, and intreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And 
again he sent a third : and they wounded him also, and cast him 
out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do ? I will 
send my beloved son : it may be they will reverence him when they 
see him. But when the husbandmen saw him. they reasoned among 
themselves, saying, This is the heir : come, let us kill him. that the 
inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and 
killed him," Luke xx. 9-14. 

Here we have the love of God in sending His Son after prophets 
and seers had been stoned, and the obedience of the Son in doing 
the will of His Father, knowing full well that hi doing it that He 
would be brutally murdered. His response and obedience to the 
covenant in the gil-gal. Sabbath after Sabbath, "All that the Lord 
hath said we will do and be obedient/' culminated in losing his life; 
for His obedience to His Fathers covenant demanded that " lie 
should love the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his soul, and 
with all his mind.*' and He could not do this unless He was prepared 
to meet the curses, smhings, mockings, scourgings, the crown of 
thorns, and death itself. He died, and in His death He has taiuht 



1H2 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



us how to love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and 
with all our mind, for He became obedient even unto death, 
" Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and 
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Belovtd, if God so 
loved us, we ought also to love one another," 1 John iv. 10, 11. And 
Christ's obedience to the second great command was "that he should 
love his neighbour as himself," for on love to God and love to our 
neighbour haug all the law and the prophets, Matt. xxii. 86-40. And 
His obedience to the second great commandment demanded of him to 
love His enemies, to bless them that cursed Him, to do good to them 
that hated Him, and to pray for them that despitefully used Him 
and persecuted Him. And it was in obedience to this great second 
command, His infinite love for us, that He laid down His life; for 
could He not have called for twelve legions of angels to have 
delivered Himself, but how would the Scriptures be fulfilled ? how 
would He have rendered obedience to the second great command in 
God's covenant if He had not loved His enemies, and prayed for 
them vvho despitefully used Him ? "I am not come to destroy the 
law or the prophets, but to fulfil," and this He did by the infinite 
love He displayed. " Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do." This was loving His neighbour as Himself. " Greater 
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for 
his friends," but " While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," 
"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ," the mediator 
of the new covenant, and not through Moses, the mediator of the 
old covenant. 

The effect of the new covenant, written upon the heart, may be 
seen in the writings of all the Apostles. " As Christ laid down his 
life for us, so ought we to lay down our life for the brethren." 
" There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because 
fear hath torment. He that feareth is iiot made perfect in love 
We love him because he first loved us. If a man say, I love 
God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for he that loveth not his 
brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not 
seen ? And this commandment have we from him, That he who 
loveth God loveth his brother also," 1 John iv. 18-21. "The law is 
holy, and the commandments holy, and just, and good." " For we 
know that the law is spiritual ; for I delight in the law of God after 
the inward man." " I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord; 
so then with my mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 133 

flesh the law of sin, 

For" what the (Mosaic) law could not do, m that it was weak through 
the flesh, God sending- his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 
find for sin, condemned sin in the flesh : That the righteousness of 
the law (God's covenant) might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after 
the flesh, but after the Spirit. . . . The carnal mind is enmity against 
God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, 
, . . Now if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his. 
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again (under the 
old covenant) to fear ; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, 
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness 
with our spiiit that we are the children of God: And if children, 
then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that 
we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. ... He 
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? Who shall lay 
anything to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. 
Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that 
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also 
makebh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of 
Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or 
nakedness, or peril, or sword ? As it is written, For thy sake are we 
killed all the day long ; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him 
that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor 
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things 
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
able to -eparate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus 
our Lord," Rom. vii.-viii. 

Under the old covenant of Moses, the Israelites obeyed through 
fear ; under the new we are taught to obey it through love. Under the 
old covenant it was obedience to the letter, but under the new it is 
true spiritual obedience. Under the eld, God was clothed with the 
attributes of a heathen deity, as taking vengeance with pestilence 
and sword ; under the new, God is introduced as a God of love, who 
gave up His own Son that He might teach us how to become 
obedient to God's law that we may gain eternal life. Under the old 
it was " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which 
are written in the book of the law to do them." Under the new " We 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 



love God because he first loved us " ; and it is because we love Him 
that we keep His commandments. Under the old we were in bond- 
ncre; under the new we are free in the liberty into which Christ ha> 
brought us. Under the old the law was a yoke upon the neck, which 
neither our fathers nor we were able to bear ; under the new the 
yoke is removed. " Learn of me (not Moses), for my yoke is easy 
and my burden is light." Under the old it was but a schoolmaster, 
under the new we are a kingdom of priests, the holy nation. Under 
the old we lost our birthright (Israel is my firstborn) ; under the 
new we again enjoy the full birthright blessings. Under the old 
was a sacrifice of bulls, goats, and rams; under the new it is the 
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Under the old it was a negative 
worship ; under the new it is a positive worship. Under the old it 
was but a shadow ; under the new the reality. Under the old the 
" ministration of death, written and engraven on the 6ix pillar 
stones " ; under the new redeemed from the ministration of death. 
Under the old glorious ; under the new more glorious. Under Moses 
the law was written upon the door post and worn as frontlets between 
their eyes, under the new, written on their minds. 

In addressing the mixed assemblies, Christ adopts the parabolic 
method, and when questioned why He did so, He says,' ' To you (the 
lost sheep who were divorced from the Mosaic covenant) is made 
known the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven ; but to them (Jews 
who were still under the old covenant) it is not." However, when 
towards the end of his life, He had about accomplished His purpose, 
and u the gospel of the kingdom " had taken too deep a root for the 
Jews to destroy it, then He told them plainly, " The kiugdom is 
taken from you (Jews) and given to a nation (the Israelites or lost 
sheep) bringing forth the fruits thereof." 

The kingdom here referred to is that which G od promised to them 
on their true obedience to the covenant of Horeb. " Noiv, therefore, 
if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall 
be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people ; for all the earth is 
mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy 
nation," Ex. xix. 5-6. Peter, it is clear, so understood it, for writing 
to the Israelites "dispersed among the Gentiles," he says, " But ye 
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar 
people, that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath 
called you out of darkness into marvellous light, which in times 
past were not a people (Lo-ammi, Hosea i. 9), but now are the people 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 135 

of God (Hosea i. 10); which had not obtained mercy, but now have 
obtained mercy," 1 Peter ii. 9-10 ; hence this was called " the gospel 
of the kingdom," " the kingdom of God," " the kingdom of heaven," 
and " the grace of the gospel of God." When He had made up the 
number of followers to twelve, He sent them forth— 

"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go 
not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samari- 
tans enter ye not: Bub go rather to the lost sheep of the ho *se of 
Israel. And, as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out 
devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, 
nor silver, nor brass in your purses ; nor scrip for your journey, 
neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; for the work- 
man is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye 
shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy: and there abide till ye go 
thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the 
house be worthy, let your peace come upon it : but if it be not 
worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not 
receive you, nor hear your w T ords, when ye depart out of that house 
or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it 
shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the 
day of judgment than for that city. Behold, I send you forth as 
sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye therefore wise as serpents and 
harmless as doves. But beware of men : for they will deliver you 
up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues ; 
and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for 
a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver 
you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak : for it shall be 
given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye 
that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 
And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the 
father the child : and the children shall rise up against their parents 
and cause them to be put to death And ye shall be hated of all 
men for my name's sake : but he that endureth to the end shall be 
saved," Matt. x. 5-22. 

The Apostles, armed with miraculous power, as faithful men 
among savage tribes, now went forth as sheep among wolves, and 
laid the foundation of the kingdom of God, preaching true 
obedience to the new covenant, which was to be written on their 
hearts, thereby abolishing the old. Their obedience to God's law, as 
taught by their Master, cost them their lives ; for they had to still 
attend to the synagogue service, still to hear the Law and the 
prophets, read Sabbath after Sabbath ; still to respond, * k All that the 
Lord hath saith we will do and be obedient." And it was when they 



136 ARb: THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

explained how true obedience could be rendered that would be 
acceptable to God, that they met with the persecution. " They 
shall scourge you in their synagogues." 

It was these pioneers who taught that God was love, and it was 
out of love for Him that they faced death in all its horrible forms, 
and this was the evidence of their true obedience to the first great 
command, " Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind." The Israelitish tribes, dwelling among 
the nations, anl worshipping they knew not what, embraced the 
Gospel as taught by the Apostles — a Gospel which was a revelation 
that the great Unknown was a God of love ; for He had given them 
the miraculous power to heal all manner of disease, to raise the deal, 
cleanse the leper, and cast out devils. Hence they preached " the 
gospel of the grace of God," Acts xx. 24. God and good were 
synonymous terms among the apostles, and ought to be so now: but. 
alas, tares have been sown. An enemy hath done this; and the 
God who "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. 
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have ever- 
lasting life,*' is. according to this modern gospel which has supple- 
mented the law of God, " A God who so hated the world, that he 
murdered his only begotten son (to satisfy his justice) that whoso- 
ever believeth this shall not perish but have everlasting life." And 
this is the gospel that has abolished the law. If Christ paid the 
penalty due to our sins, then we are free, the debt paid. Where is 
the mercy and grace of God ? We need none, for the justice of God 
has been satisfied, and we, claiming as our right through the deatli 
of Christ, eternal life, ive demand it as an act of justice. God has 
no choice, for in this case we are not saved by grace, through faith 
neither is it " the gift of God." 

This gospel of satisfied justice makes God to regard Christ (who 
is just and holy) a sinner when He is not, and a sinner just and holy, 
when he is not so, and in this way this gospel has overthrown the 
laws of God. This gospel dethrones the God of love, and exalts in 
his place a deity far more cruel than any idea of a god that has come 
down to us in the pages of history. The idea that Moses had was 
bad enough, but the idea of the God presented to us in this gospel is 
ten thousand times worse. Under the former, God's justice was pic- 
tured to us as blessing us if we kept his commandments., and cursing 
us if we were disobedient, but under the later, God's justice is pic- 
tured to us as to require that God should slay the just for the unjust, 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 137 

the innocent for the guilty. If this be so, then since Christ has 
commanded us " to be perfect," even as God is perfect, our perfection 
can only be obtained when we, like Him, not only punish our eldest 
son for the sins committed by the members of the family, but 
actually to murder him to satisfy our justice and anger. You 
who believe this, do you preach it? If not, why not ? You reply, 
that you are not the Creator. I answer, true, but you ore com- 
manded to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," 
and this gives you the right, and in fact commands you, as an im- 
perative duty, to take the life of your son, for aie you not com- 
manded to "be perfect even as your Heavenly Father is perfect." 
God's justice demands the sacrifice of His Son, to satisfy His justice, 
and this is the standard of justice which. God has given us in order 
that we may " do His will on earth as it is done in heaven." Then 
why do you not take the life of your son as God took the life of His 
Son to establish His kingdom in His righteousness. Why ? It is 
simply because your gospel has not entirely supplanted the law of the 
ten commandments. The very moment you have evangelized society 
by your gospel hymns and your gospel creeds and dogmas, to your 
belief that the gospel, pure and simple, has abolished the law — the ten 
commandments, so that the statute laws of the realm shall have been 
revised and amended so as to obliterate all tuice of the ten com- 
mandments inthem — that very moment you will be able to take the 
life of your child without the fear of punishment. That moment 
you let open the flood-gates to all iniquity. 

It was no crime in Rome for a father to take the life of his child, 
for it was the custom; and what subsequently male it a crime, was 
the introduction of the ten commandments into Rome. Abolish 
the ten commandments here, and it will be no crime for a man 
to take the life of his child any more than it was in ancient 
Rome. This will be made clear when we notice the supposed moral, 
civil and ceremonial precepts in the commandments. One thing i.^ 
clear, and that is, that it is simply impossible to reconcile this gospel 
with the law of God, for the law of God says most emphatically, 
"Thou shalt do no murder." This gospel says murder is right, if 
committed to satisfy justice in the interest of " establishing the 
kingdom of God in His righteousness." Accept this gospel, and 
it becomes a crime to obey the law, and it on 's in your eter- 
nal reprobation, as is evident from the f ollow r ing popular gospel 
hymn ; — 



138 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



u Nothing, either great or small, 
Nothing, sinner, no; 
Jesus did it, did it all, 
Long, long ago. 

1 It is finished ! ' yes, indeed, 

Finished every jot; 
Sinner, this is all you need ; 

Tell me, is it not? 

AY hen He, from His lofty throne, 

Stooped to do and die, 
Everything was fully done: 

Hearken to His cry. 

Weary, working burdened one, 

Wherefore toil you so ? 
Cease your doing; all was done 

Long, long ago. 

Till to Jesus' work you cling 

By a simple faith, , 

Doing is a deadly thing- 
Doing ends in death. 

Cast your deadly ' doing ' down- 
Down at Jesus feet : 

Stand in Him, in Him alone, 
Gloriously complete. 

Sojigs and Solos, Hymn 74. 

The perversion of truth here is simply astounding, when we 
remember that the text over the hymn is that found in Mark x. 21. 
The rich young man asked our blessed Lord what he should do to 
inherit eternal life. Our Lord referred him to the Ten Command- 
ments. The young man replied, " All these have I observed from 
youth. Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all 
that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in 
heaven." If this young man had sold his possession, and given to 
the poor, he would have been " doing a deadly thing," and " doing 
ends in death." Therefore under these circumstances, according to 
this popular gospel, the rich young man was wise in rejecting the 
teaching of Christ; for had he acted upon it, instead of inheriting 
eternal life, he would have been eternally damned, and this through 
the misleading teaching of Christ. It is not enough for this gospel 
which has abolished the law, to charge God with the murder of 



AKE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 139 

His only begotten Son, bub makes the Messiah the author of 
teaching a doctrine which leads men to everlasting destruction ; for 
Christ certainly did teach " they that have done good unto the 
resurrection of life," John v. 20; and this "doing good is a deadly 
tJiing, and doing ends in death. 

Christ, in introducing Himself in all His humility as " the express 
image of God " and as the only begotten Son of God, knew that He 
would lose His life; however, since the redemption could not be 
brought about in any other way than by the natural law of assimila- 
tion, Christ led the way, being the first to sacrifice Himself, thous- 
ands of martyrs following in His train. 

In this way He laid down His life of His own free will ; " that 
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," but not instead of us, 
or as a substitute for us, or to pay a debt. Nothing of the kind. 
Peter says, " For Christ having once suffered for sins, the just for 
the unjust, that hi might bring us to God, being put to death in the 
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit," 1 Peter iii. 1 8. The just (Christ) did 
suffer for the unjust (Barrabas), but not to satisfy the justice of God, 
or to appease His anger, but to bring us to God. Christ died, " that 
through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, 
that is, the devil," Heb. ii. 14. Not that He died to satisfy the 
justice of God, or appease an angry God, or destroy the wrath of 
God, but that " He might destroy him who had the power of death, that 
is, the devil.'" " Christ came to give himself for us, that he might re- 
deem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works," Tit. ii. 14. Not that Christ came to redeem us 
from the torath of God," but "from all iniquity," that we may be the 
holy nation, the royal priesthood. Christ has redeemed us to God by 
His blood (Rev. v. 9). Not redeemed us from God's wrath or paid 
the debt, " Wlien we were enemies we were reconciled to God," Rom. 
v. 10. Not that God was our enemy, and was reconciled unto us. 
"We have now received the atonement" (v. 11). Not God who 
received it but man. " God who hath reconciled us to himself by 
Jesus Christ." ..." God ivas in Christ reconciling the world unto 
himself." Not that God was in Christ reconciling Himself to the 
world, for God was not estranged or angry. " We pray you in 
Christ's stead " be ye reconciled to God," 2 Cor. v. 18-20. "Christ 
reconciled both the Jew and the Gentile unto God in one body 
having slain the enmity thereby." Eph. ii. 1 6, " You that were some- 
time alienated, and enernie* >n your mind by wicked works, yet hath 



140 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



he 7101V reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present 
you wholly unblameable and unreprovable in his sight," Col. i. 21, 22. 
Enough has been quoted to prove that Christ was the reconciler, 
and His mission was to reconcile man to God, and not an angry God 
to man; and that while He was working out the reconciliation He 
was brutally murdered. But then " He bore our sins in His own 
body on the tree." He did. Was it not a sin to pierce those hands 
and feet ? Was it not a sin to put that crown of thorns upon 
that sacred head ? Was it not a sin to pierce that side ? It was ; 
and it was our sins — sins that toe committed, that "He bore in His 
oivn body on the tree" The sin of Christendom to-day is in asserting 
that God required the just to die for the unjust to satisfy His justice. 
What a calumny is this on a loving God. 

The gospel of the nineteenth century, which has abolished the 
law, has done so by making an infinitely loving God perpetuate an 
infinite injustice in slaying One infinitely holy as though He was 
infinitely wicked. This Gospel flatly contradicts all the teaching of 
Christ, who ever taught that God was metciful. We are told in 
defence of this doctrine that God was a God of law as well as a 
God of love. To this we say, Amen. But tell us, O ye wise men, 
where in God's law has He ever demanded that the just should 
suffer instead of the unjust. Nowhere to be found in the Ten 
Commandments, and we know of no other law of God. Are we to 
assume that every time that Christ said, "Thy sins be forgiven 
thee," that He did not tell the truth ; that He had no power to for- 
give sins because the debt had not been paid upon Calvary, or that 
those sins had not been forgiven, but that that forgiveness was 
deferred until He had paid the penalty on the Cross? If Christ 
forgave sins before the Crucifixion, is it not conclusive that 
His death had nothing whatever to do with our being forgiven. 
" Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass 
against us. 

This is the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of infinite 
love and mercy runs through all His teachings. Note the parables 
of the Prodigal, Ninety-and-nine, Unjust Steward, etc, If we extend 
our grace of forgiveness to those who are indebted to us, God will 
likewise extend His grace and goodness to us. Herein lies the doc- 
trine of the at-one-ment. which is and ever will be the ruling principle 
that shall govern the kingdom of God : " Thy kingdom come, Thy will 
be done on earth as it is done in heaven ; give us this day our daily 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 141 

bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass 
against us." 

Having- shown that the new covenant was the theme of prophets 
and the poet's song; that neither Christ or His apostles ever abolished 
the law by the gospel, but lifted it out of the traditions of men, 
making a clear distinction between "your law" and "the law of 
God,' 1 we submit the following from those who were the immediate 
successors of the apostles — the martyrs — the early fathers, who knew 
nothing of a gospel which abolished the law, but insisted that the way 
to eternal life was through a perfect spiritual obedience to the law 
of God as taught by Jesus Christ. 

Teachings of the Twelve Apostles. A. D. 100. 
Ancient and Modern Library, Apostolic Fathers Vol. II. 

Chap I. " Two ways there are — one of life and one of death ; but 
there is a great difference between the two ways. The way of life, 
then, is this : First, thou shalt love the God who made thee. Secondly, 
thy neighbor as thyself; and all things whatsoever thou wouldst not 
have befall thee, thou too, do not to another. Now of these words 
the teaching is this : Bless them that curse you, and pray for your 
enemies ; and feel for them that persecute you ; for what thanks have 
ye if ye love them that love you ? Do not the nations also the same ? 
but love them that hate you, and ye shall have no enemy. Abstain 
from the fleshly and worldly lusts. If any one give thee a blow on 
the right cheek, turn to him the other also, and thou shalt be perfect ; 
if any one compel thee to go with him one mile go with him two ; if 
any one take thy cloak, give him thy tunic also ; if any one take 
from thee what is thine, ask it not back, for indeed thou canst not. 
To every one that asketh thee, give and ask not back, for to all the 
Father desireth to have given of His own gracious gifts. Blessed is 
he that giyeth according to the commandment, for he is guiltless. 
Woe to him that receive th, for if indeed one receiveth who hath 
need, he shall be guiltless ; but he that hath no need, shall give an 
account why he took, and for what purpose ; and coming u nder care- 
ful men, shall be examined concerning what he did, and shall not go 
out thence until he pay the last f?rthing. But it hath also been said 
concerning this matter, ' Let thy alms sweat in thy hands, until thou 
knowest to whom thou shouldest give. 1 " 

Chap. II. " Now t a second commandment of the teaching is, Thou 

shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit aduLery." 

_ Gh ap. IV. ..." Become not one who for taking, stretches out 
his hands, but for giving, draws them in. If thou hast anything by 

thy hands, thou shalt give a ransom for thy sins Tnou 

shalt by no means forsake the Lord's commandments, but shalt 
guard what thou hast received, never adding to it nor taking from 



142 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 



it. In the church thou shalt confess thy transgressions, and shalt 
not come forward for thy prayer with an evil conscience. This is 
the way of life." ' p. 171. 

The church which formulated " The Teaching," knew of no gospel 
which abolished the law. 

Polycarp. Epistle to the Phillipians. A. D 140. 
Ancient and Modern Library. Apostolic Fathers, vol. II. 

Chap. II But he that raised Christ up from the dead, 

also raise us up in like manner, if we do His will, and walk according 
to His commandments, and love those things which He loved. 

p. 142. 
Ignatius' Epistle to the T aliians. A. D. 140. 
Ancient and Modern Library Apostolic Fathers. Vol. II. 

Chap. XIII Fare ye well in Jesus Christ being subject 

to your bishop as to the commands of God ; and so likewise the pres- 
bytery, p. 94. 

Hegesippius (A. D. 175), giving an account of his travels, says: 
Eusebius' Eccles. His. 

Chap. XXII. " In every succession and in every city, the doctrine 
prevails accoiding to what is declared by the laws and the prophets 
and th- Lord." Bk. 4. 

Clement of Rome, A. D. 150. (Epistfe to the Corinthians, so called). 

Chap III. " Therefore righteousness and peace have dep-,rted 
from you, because every one hath forsaken the fear of God and is 
grown blind in his faith, nor walketh by the rule of God's com- 
mandments, nor liveth as is fitting in Christ." 

Chap. XXXVII. k ' Let us therefore march on, men and brethren, 
and with all earnestness, in His holy laws. Let us consider those wh:> 
fight under our earthly governors ; how orderly, how readily, and 
with what exact obedience they perform those things that are com- 
manded of them." 

Second Epistle. 

Chap. IX. " Wherefore brethren let us, doing the will of the Father, 
and keeping our flesh pure, and observing the commandments of the 
Lord, lay hold on eternal life." 

Theophilus to Antolycus. A. D. 175. 

Chap. XXVII. " For God has given us a law and holy command- 
ments, and everyone that keeps these can be saved and, obtaining 
the resurrection, can inherit incorruption." Ek. 2. 

Chap. IX. "We have learned a holy law; but we have a Law- 
giver — Him who is really God, who teaches us to act righteously and 
to be pious and to do good 

" Of the great and wonderful Law which tends to all righteous- 
ness, the ten heads are such as we have already rehearsed." Bk. 3. 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? H3 



Irenseus A. D. 188. 

Chap. XII. " For the traditions of those elders, which they pretend- 
ed to observe according to God's laws, were contrary to the law given 
by Moses. Wherefore Esais saith, Thy vintners mingle wine with 
water, signifying that the elders mingled with the strict com- 
mandments of God a diluted tradition ; controverting, that is, a law 
spurious and contrary to the law, as also the Lord made manifest, 
saying unto them, Why do ye transgress the commandments of God 
because of your own tradition ? Yet not only did they by profession 
make void the law of God, mingling water with wine, but they even 
set up in opposition their own law, which even to this day is called 
Pharisaical, wherein they take away some things, some they add, 
others they expound at their own will, and of these their teachers 
make special use, and being minded to maintain their own traditions, 
they have no mind to submit themselves to God's law, training 
them up for the coining of Christ ; but they called the Lord himself 
to account for heal iog on the Sabbath, which however, as we said 
before, was not forbidden by the law (for themselves, too, in a man- 
ner, to do a work of healing, in that they would circumcise a man 
on the Sabbath). But with themselves they found no fault, when 
by their traditions and pharasaic law (of which I spake before) 
they were transgressing the commandments of God, and not having 
that which the law commands, i.e., love towards God. 

" But that this is the first and greatest commandment, and the 
next that towards our neighbor, the Lord taught when he said that 
the whole law and the prophets hang on these commandments. Nor 
did ever he bring down any other commandment greater than this, 
but the same He renewed to his disciples, bidding them to love God 
with all their heart and all others as themselves. But had He come 
down from another father, never would He have adopted His first 
and chief commandment from the law, rather surely He would have 
tried to bring it down as somewhat greater from the perfect father, 
instead of using that which had been given by the God of the law. 

" Paul says love is the fulfilling of the law, and that when other 
things are done away there abide th faith hope and charity, and that 
the greatest of these is charity, and that neither knowledge without 
love towards God avails anything, nor understanding of mysteries, 
nor faith, nor prophecy, but that all things are void and in vain with- 
out love ; and that it is love which completes the perfect man, and 
that he who loves God is perfect both in this world and in the future. 
Fur we can never come to an end in our loving of God, but the more 
we shall have looked upon Him so much the more we love Him. 

"Wherefore since in the law and in the gospel the first and 
greatest precept is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and 
the next one like unto it, to love our neighbor as ourself, one and 
the same is Bhown to be the founder of the law and the gospel; that 
as the pre< ep of a perfect life being the same in both testaments, 



U4 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

shewed their God to be the same, who while He laid down His pre 
cepts of detail as suited each of the two, did in both recommend th< 
very same as the higher and chiefest, without which is no salvation, 

And these things He taught, not as contrary to the 

law, but as fulfilling the law, and rooting within us the means where- 
by the law maketh righteous. But that would have been contrary 
to the law if whatever the law had forbidden to be done, the same He 
had bidden his disciples to do. And the maxim of His in particular, 
to abstain not only from all things forbidden by the law, but also 
from the desire of the same, is not contrary, as we have said. Nor 
is it for one who would abolish the law, but rather who would fulfil, 

draw out and widen it And therefore the Lord, in 

the place of saying " Thou shalt not commit adultery," commanded 
not even to desire ; and in the place of " Thou sha^t not kill," not even 
to be angry ; and in place of paying tithes, to distribute all our goods 
to the poor, and to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, 
and not only to be good at giving and imparting, but also to meet 
with free gifts those who take away what is our own. Thus, " To him 
(saith He) who would take away thy coat, spare him also thy cloak : 
and of him that taketh w r hat is thine, ask it not again ; and as ye 
would that men should do to you, do ye unto them ; that ye may not 
be sad as persons unwilling to be imposed upon, but let us rejoice as 
though we had given willingly, rather bestowing a free favor on 
our neighbors than serving them by compulsion. And if any man 
compel thee to go a mile, go with him two more, that thou may 
not follow as a slave, but go before as a free man, not considering 
their badness by perfecting thine own goodness, conforming thyself to 
the Father, who maketh His sun to rise on the evil and good, and 
raineth on the just and the unjust. 

" Now all these things, as we have said before, are the sayings of 
One not abolishing the law r , but fulfilling it, and expanding it, and 
giving it wider scope in us. Bk. 4. 

Chap. XVI. "And in building up man to that life, the Lord himself, 
by His own self, spake the words of the decalogue alike unto all, and 
so they abide equally with us, receiving extension and argumentation. 
but not abolition, by his coming in the flesh." Bk. •! . 

Eusebius (Ecclesiastical Hist.), in speaking of Irenaeus and others. 
says : 

Irenaeus, whose correct views of the sound faith have descended 
unto us in the works written by them as they received it from apos- 
tolic tradition. Bk. 4, c. 21 

Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 194. 

The Miscellanies. 
It appears that the Valentinians seem to have objected oo 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 145 



ascribing" joy and grief, which are human affections, to God. Clem- 
ment replies : 

" The divine nature cannot be described as it really is. The pro- 
phets have spoken to us, fettered as we are in the fle^h, according 
to our ability to receive their sayings, the Lord accommodating Him- 
self to human weakness, for our salvation. It is the will of God 
that he who obeys the commandments, and repents of His sins, shall 
be saved. We then rejoice on account of our salvation, and the 
Lord, speaking through the prophets, has appropriated to Himself 
our joy. 

11 Repentance, then, is an amendment through faith; for unless a 
man believes that to be sin in which he was before implicated, he 
will not change ; and unless he believes that punishment hangs over 
the transgressor, and that salvation is the portion of him who lives 
agreeably to the commandments, he will not change 

" The covenants, which are two in name, adapted to different ages 
and progress of the people of God, are one in power, both the old and 
the new being given by God through His Son." 

The Instructor. 

Chap. XII. "We have the decalogue given by Moses, which indi- 
cating by an elementary principle, simple and of one kind, defines the 
designation of sins in a way conducive to salvation." 

Bk. 3. 

Tertullian (A. D. 200) on Adultery. 

De Anima. 

" It stands in the very forefront of the most holy law, among the 
primary counts of the celestial edict." 

Origen (A. D. 200) against Celsus. Translated by Bellamy. 

Chap. IV. " When the law was written the second time on tables 
of stone, the Lord delivered them to Moses, to signify that the law 
which was defaced by the original apostacy should be re-impressed 
on the mind of men by the preaching of the gospel/' 

p. 51, 

Again speaking, in chap, xv., he says : 

" Moses laws are diligently observed by an entire and populous na- 
tion, by whose means they have been diffused almost through the whole 
of the habitable world" p. 78. 

The Recognitions of Clement (so called), A. D. 210. 

Chap. XXXV. " Meantime they camo to Mount Sinai, and thence 
the law was given to them with voices and sights from heaven, 



146 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED 

written in ten precepts, of which the first and greatest was that 
they should worship God alone." Bk. 1. 

Chap. LV. "On account of those, therefore, who by negli'Ct of 
their own salvation, please the evil one. and those who by study of 
their own profit seek to please the good One. ten thin us have t>een 
prescribed as a test to this present age, according to the number of 
the ten plagues which were brought upon Egypt." 

Bk. 3. 

Novatian (A. D. 250) on Jewish Meats. 

Chap. III. " The law given to the children of Israel for this pur- 
pose, that they might profit by it, and return to tho<e virtuous 
manners which, although they had received them from their fathers, 
they had corrupte I in Egypt, by reason of their intercourse with a 
barbarous people. Finally, also, those ten commandments on the 
tables teach us nothing new, but remind them of what had been 
obliterated — that righteousness in them, which had been put to sleep, 
might revive again, as it were, by the afflatus of the law, after the 
manner of fire [nearly extinguished]." 

Apostolic Constitutions. 
A Collection Formed during the Second, Third, and Fourth 

Centuries. 
-'Abstain therefore from all unlawful desires and injustice, for it 
is written in the law, ' Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife, nor 
his field, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor 
his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbors,' for all coveting of these 
things is from the evil one. For he that coveteth his neighbor's wife 
or his maid servant, is already in his mind an adulterer and a thief, 
and if he does not repent, is condemned by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
through whom glory be to God for ever, Amen. For He says, in the 
gospel, recapitulating and confirming and fulfilling the ten com- 
mandments of the law. 'It is written in the law. Thou shalt not 
commit adultery ; but I say unto you (that is, I said in the law by 
Moses, but now I say unto you, myself), Whosoever shall look on his 
neighbor's wife to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her 
already in his heart.' " Bk. 1, sec. 1. 

On the Character and Teaching of Bishops. 

" Let him be patient and geutle in his admonitions, well instructed 
himself, meditating in and diligently stud) ing the Lord's Books and 
reading them frequently, that so he may be able carefully to inter 
pret the scriptures, expounding the gospel in correspondence wiih 
the prophets and the law. And let the exposition from the law and the 
prophets correspond with the gospel, for the Lord Jesus said, ' Search 
the scri.-tures, for they are they which testify of me,' But above all 
let him carefully distinguish between the original law and the addi- 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 147 

tional precepts, and show which are the law for believers, and which 
the bonds for unbelievers, lest any should fall under those bonds." 

Bk. 2, sec. 5. 

On the Accusation and Treatment of Accusers. 

" But let them not be admitted to communion in 

prayer, and let them depart after reading the law and the prophets." 

Sec. 5, par. 34. 

11 Have before your eyes the fear of God and always remember the 
ten commandments of God — to love the one and ouly Lord God with 
all thy strength; to give no heed to idols or any other things as 
being irrratioiial creatures or daemons." Bk. 2. sec. 4, par. 36. 

11 He gave a plain law to assist the law of nature, and such a one 
as is pure, saving and holy ; in which His own name was inscribed, 
perfect, which is never to fail, being complete in ten commandments, 
unspotted, converting souls." Bk. 6, sec. 4, par. 19. 

On the Two Ways: The Way of Life and the Way of Death. 

" The first way, therefore, is that of life, and is this which the law 
does also appoint, To love the Lord thy God with all thy mind and 
with all thy soul, who is one and only God and there is no other, and 

to love thy neighbor as thyself thou shalt confess 

thy sins unto the Lord thy God this is the way 

of life in which may you be found through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

Bk. 7., sec. 1. 

" Almighty Eternal God, Lord of the whole world, the Creator and 
Governor of all things, who hast exhibited man as the ornament of 
the world, through Jesus Christ, and didst give him a law both 
naturally implanted and written, that he might live according 
to law as a rational creature. And when he had sinned thou gavest 
him Thy goodness as a pledge in order to his repentance. Look 
down upon these persons who have bended the neck of their souls 
and bodies to thee, for Thou desirest not the death of a sinner, but 
his repentance, that he may turn from his wicked way and live." 

Sec. 9. 

" He (Jesus) lived holily, and taught according to the law. He 
drove away sickness and every disease of men, and wrought signs 
and wonders among the people; and he was a partaker of meat and 
drink and- sleep, who nourished all who stood in need of food, 
and fills every living- creature with His goodness. ' He manifested 
His name to those who knew Him not.' He drove away ignorance, 
He revived piety, and fulfilled Thy will; He finished the work Thou 
gavest Him to do. And when He had set all these things right, He 
was seized by the hands of the ungodly — of the high priest, falsely 
to called — and by the disobedient people ; by the betraying of him 
who was possessed of wickedness as with a confirmed disease. He 
L 2 



148 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



suffered many things for them, and endured all sorts of ignominy 
by Thy permission. , He who was by nature im- 

mortal died, and He that is the giver of life was buried, that He 
might loose those for whose sake He came from suffering and death, 
and might break the bonds of the devil and deliver mankind from 
his deceit." Par. 12. 

These writers knew nothing of a gospel which abolished the law. 
Oue and all make the commandments the very foundation of all 
Christian belief, the rule of faith and action. The writer of the 
article " Decalogue," in Smith and Wage' Dictionary of Christian 
Biography, admits "that the commandments have long occupied a 
high pbce in the scheme of Christian teaching," but questions its 
antiquity in the apostolic fathers. The very authors he quotes 
ought to remove his doubts, and undoubtedly would have done so, 
but for his belief in " the modern gospel." This is what he says : 

" That the ten commandments have long occupied a high place in 
the scheme of Chiistian teaching, cannot be denied; but has this 
been so from the foundation of Christianity ? In the apostolic 
fathers there is little or nothing which bears directly on this ques- 
tion. The earliest evidence found is Pliny's celebrated letter, 
in which he asserts that the Christians of Bithvnia used to 
bind themselves by a solemn oath to abstain from theft, robbery, 
adultery and perjury (ne furta. ne latrocinia ne adultrid committer - 
ent, ne fldem fallerent). TertuHian s in his apology (chap, ii.), 
quotes Pliny's letter iu a way which mak<_ it almost certain thai this 
4 Sacramentum ' of the Bithynian Christians was based upon the 
commandments of the second table. 

11 In his treatise Adversus Judacos (chap, ii.), this father speaks 
more plainly. He asks how one could suppose that God gave the 
law to one people only, and not to the whole human race. The pun 
ciples of the decalogue had been given from the creation, the law of 
Moses was the latest and fullest edition of the original law (lex 
principalis,). Also cf. De Pudicitia, chs. iv. and v. 

"The testimony of Iivnaeus is still stronger. In the fourth bool 
of his work, Adversus Haereses, the writings of Moses are called the 
woivs of Christ (chap. in.). Certain chief commands are. identical 
in the scriptures of both covenants (eminentiora et summa sine 
quibus, salvari non potest in utroque eadem suasit (chap. xxviA 
Moreover the decalogue differs from the rest of the law (chap, xxi ). 
Its words are still in force, and contain natural and universal laws. 
The precepts of bondage were tit only for punishing and educating 
the Jewish people. 

" Clemens Alexandrinus in his Stroma f a (bk. vi., chap, xvi.) speaks 
of the decalogue as a pattern. He also discusses the commandment 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 149 



in detail, and evidently looks upon them as permanently binding 
on Christians as well as Jews. 

44 Origen's opinions on the subject may be gathered from his eighth 
Homily on the Book of Exodus, where in treating of the first and 
second commandments, he points out that the first was addressed not 
merely to the Israelites, but also in a higher sense to all who, by 
forsaking sin. have escaped the bondage of their land of Egypt. 

44 If St. Augustine's views be asked, we may refer to his treatise 
Contra Faustum (bk. xv., chap. v. and vii,), where he maintains that 
the decalogue is hostile to the principles of Manichseans, and in proof 
of this, discusses the commandments one by one. Again in his treatise 
De Catechizandis rubius (chap, xxiii.) he asserts, " After the de- 
scent of the Holy Spirit the disciples, instead of finding the deca- 
logue a burden, were able to keep it with a feeling of pleasure. 

44 The testimony of the Apostolic Constitutions, whatever be the 
exact date of the work, is most valuable, inasmuch ns it entirely 
supports the views of the above named fathers. The decalogue is 
called (bk. vii. sec. 1) 4 the way of life.' 

44 The Christian church, therefore, from the first century onwards 
has laid a special stress on the decalogue and has accepted and used 
it as a basis of moral teaching [W. J. J.]." 

Whatever opinions we may have now about the ten command- 
ments, one thing is conclusive, i. e., that the early fathers never made 
them as the basis of moral teaching, but 44 the way of life." What 
the writer means by moral teaching, it is impossible to know, as he 
has not defined it. And this brings us to our next subject of debate. 

2. 44 That the commandments contain civil, moral, and ceremonial 
precepts ; that the moral precepts are binding, not because they are 
the laws of God, but because they are natural laws, binding upon 
all the human race alike." 

This argument takes its rise at the reformation, at a time when it 
was almost universally believed that Sunday was the first day of the 
week and kept in honor of our Saviour's resurrection. Previous to 
the time of the reformation, this dividing up of the fourth com- 
mandment was rmknown, the obvious reason being that the necessity 
had not arisen to formulate an apology for keej ing Sunday as the 
Sabbath, for down to the twelfth century the Sunday was well- 
known to be the identical seventh day of the week and consequently 
the Sabbath. However, during the dark ages that followed, the 
identity of the seventh day with the Sunday was lo^t, or nearly so, 
;,nd at the council of Trent, all those who took part in that council, 
f.nd in the discussions that have followed, even down to our own 
days, have believed that Sunday is the first day, hence the necessity 



150 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 

on the part of all Christian sects alike (except those who keep Satur- 
day), to divide the fourth commandment into civil, moral and ceri- 
monial precepts; and to show the unanimity there exists among 
Christian bodies of the most opposite religious beliefs, upon this 
question, we quote the following, in addition to those who have 
been cited in this chapter. Dr. dimming (Presbyterian), in reply to 
Mr. French (Roman Catholic), said : 

4i You recollect, in the course of my learned antagonist's remarks, 
he stated that we were dependent on tradition wholly for the change 
of :he Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of 
the week. Now I beg, in the first place, to remind my antagonist 
that Cardinal Ballarmine sees proved in scripture that the Jewish 
Sabbath is not binding upon Christians, and the Epistle to the Col- 
lossians is confirmatory of the Cardinal's view, as several other 
places. Let me add that our Lord appeared frequently on the first 
day of the week to His disciples, thereby couseerating it to solemn 
services. And the Apostle Paul, who said he was * taught nothing 
by man, but by the revelation of Christ,' regarded the first day of the 
week as the Lord's day, and spake of Christians assembling on it for 
worship as a usual thing. And then in the book of Revelation or 
the Apocalypse, John speaks of the Lord's day as the Christian Sab- 
bath — ' I w r as in the Spirit on the Lord's day; ' and the whole of the 
word of God, did time permit, presents invincible evidence that the 
Christian Sabbath is the first day of the week. Besides history, 
which we respect and revere, while we repudiate ail effort to make 
it a part of the rale of faith, and distinguish it in all resptcts 
from the ' old wives' fables' of Roman tradition, record the fact 
that the first day of the week was the Christian Sabbath. History 
with its thousand tongues, and revelation, with one, proclaims this 
truth. 

" In the next place, remember, the moral of the fourth command- 
ment is that a seventh portion of your time shall be given to the ser- 
vice and worship of Jehovah ; and the ceremonial, that is the seventh 
portion, is on the seventh day of the week. To prove that the moral 
is the main thing, let it be born in mind that it alone is everywhere 
the same, while the ceremonial is mutable by country, climate and 
distance. It will be found that the Jews in London and the Jews 
in New South Wales do not observe the Sabbath on the seventh day. 
Our first day is not the first of the antipodes. Now moral law is fan- 
immutable, ceremonial is not so. It is therefore evident that the 
Christian Church retains the moral, while the ceremonial, from suffi- 
cient authority, has been altered, so that you will observe there 
cannot be a moral obligation to keep the seventh day, because of the 
differences arising from latitude and longitude, while the moral part 
of the fourth commandment will endure as the sun, the same from 
the commencement to the close of creation; but precedent the must 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 151 



obvious and precept the most sacred warranti believers in observing 
the Sabbath of the gospel on the first day of tne week." 

.p. 471 

T)r. Cu mining's view herein expressed is not simply his own indi- 
vidual view of the case, but that of the church to which he belongs, 
for the Presbyterian church of Scotland in her Confession of Faith, 
says: 

The Confession of Faith of the Church of Scotland. 

Chap. XXI. "As it is the law of nature that in general a due pro- 
portion of our time be set apart for the worship of Cod ; so in His word. 
by a positive moral and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all 
ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sab 1 , ath, 
to be kept holy unto Him, which from the beginning of the world to 
the resurrection was the last day of the week, and from the resur- 
rection of Christ was changed into the the first day of the week, 
which in scripture is called Lord's day, and is to be continued to 
the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath. The Sabbath then 
is to be kept holy unto to the Lord, when men, after due preparing 
of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do 
not only observe a holy rest all the day from their own works, words, 
and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but 
also are to take up the whole time in public and private exercises of 
His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy." 

Sjc. 7, 8. 

These views are embodied in the Larger Catechism, under the 
head of the " Fourth Commandment," and under the same head in 
the Shorter Catechism. " The Confession of Faith" was incorpo- 
rated with the statute law of Scotland in 1567. It w r as also adopted 
by the Westminster Assembly of divines, called together by Parlia- 
ment in the year 1643, approved of by the Assembly at Edinburgh 
1647, and being ratified by act of Parliament 1649, became the 
avowed " Confession of Faith" of the Church of Scotland. (Stewart's 
Compendium of the Laws of Scotland.) 

The same view is taken by the Church of England, for in the 
Homily (A. D, 1562), '* Of the place and time of Prayer," we have it 
thus stated : 

" As concerning the time which the Almighty hath appointed his 
people to assemble together solemnly, it doth appear by the fourth 
commandment of God; 'Remember,' saith God, 'that thou keep holy 

the Sabbath day' And albeit this commandment 

of God doth not bind Christian people so straitly to observe and 
keep the other ceremonies of the Sabbath day as it was given unto 
the Jews, as touching the forebearing of work and labor in time of 



152 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

great necessity, and as touching the precise keeping of the seventh 
day, after the manner of the Jews; for we keep now the first day, 
which is our Sunday, and make that our Sabbath, that is, our day of 
rest, in honor of our Saviour Christ, who as upon that day rose from 
death, conquering the same most triumphantly. Yet notwithstand- 
ing, whatsoever is found in the commandment appertaining to the 
Jaw of nature, as a thing most godly, most just, and needful for the 
setting forth of God's glory, it ought to be retained and kept by 
all good Christian people." 

The Articles of the Church of England. 

11 Of the Homilies," in the Common Book of Prayer, we read : 

" Art. XXXV. " The Second Book of Homilies, the several titles 
whereof we have joined under this article, doth contain a golly 
and wholesome doctrine, and necessary for these times, as doth the 
former Book of Homilies, which was set forth in the time of Ed- 
ward the Sixth, and therefore we judge them to be read in churches 
by the ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may be under- 
standed by the people." 

In a work entitled 'The Bible and the Sabbath Question," by 
Charles Hill, Secretary of the Lord's Day Rest Association, Bedford 
Row, W. C, London, Eng. (1876), the writer takes the same view. 

"At Sinai the observance of the Sabbath was re-enjoined. God, 
amid thunders and lightenings (Exod. xx. 18.), spake to the vast as- 
sembly at the base of the mount. They heard Him utter the words, 
1 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' (Exod. xx. 8.) This is 
the whole of the moral part of the commandment, the remainder 
is explanatory and positive. The Word, remember, proves that the 
Sabbath was an old institution revived. In the house of bondage 
the Sabbath had almost been forgotten. The people were to forget 
it no more. Remember the rest day to keep it holy; ' six days shalt 
thou labor and do all thy work.' I have given you six days for the 
performance of your ordinary toil ; I reserve to myself the seventh 
day. Even the stranger with'n the gates was to keep holy the Sab- 
bath day. (Excd. xx. 10.) The stranger was not allowed to partici- 
pate in the other rites and ceremonies of the Jews, but the Sabbath. 
which was 'made for man,' he was bound to observe, ' For in six 
days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, 
and rested the seventh day; wherefore (or for this reason) the Lord 
blessed the seventh day and hallowed it.' Exo 1. xx. 1 ' . 

" Observe here particularly the command is to keep the Sabbath oi 
rest clay, not the seventh day. The one grand idea of the command 
is that a seventh portion of time should be devoted to holy rest. 
The seventh day in order of time as only one of the accidents of the 
law. 

" The fourth commandment is one of a code of moral laws audibly 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 153 



delivered by God (Ex. xx. 3-17.) in the presence of about 3,000,000 
persons, at Mount Sinai. These laws were twice written by God on 
tables of stone (Exod. xxxii. 16, and xxxiv. 1-28.), and the latter 
tables were deposited in the ark. (Exod. xxv. 1 6.) Their being' writ- 
ten on stone was a sign of their perpetuity. All moral laws are of 
a perpetual obligation. They are essential to the happiness and well 
being of society. 

" God's commands may be divided into two classes : 

" I. Moral laws. II. Positive laws. 

" Moral laws are commanded because they are right in themselves ' 
we clearly see the reason and necessity. Reason teaches that mur- 
der, theft, adultery, lying, etc., are offences which are essentially 
wrong, and that the commands against these offences are essentially 
right and obligatory on all mankind throughout all time. Reason 
also teaches us that there is a God, and that a portion of our time 
ought to be devoted to the service of that God. 

" Positive laivs are those which are right because they are com- 
manded. They depend upon the will of God, and are obligatory only 
so long as He pleases. Circumcision, and the offering of sacrifices 
were positive precepts. Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the seventh 
portion of time to be specially devoted to God's service, are positive 
precepts, right because God commands them, right until He abro- 
gates or alters them. 

" The fourth commandment is partly moral and -partly positive, 

"The holy rest is moral, and of perpetual obligation, for reason 
and the light of nature teach that a part of our time ought to be 
given to the worship of God, the giver of all our time, The com- 
mand is positive in the proportion of the time so to be devoted to 
God and kept holy. From the creation God appointed that a seventh 
portion of time should be devoted to sacred purposes. He might 
have appointed every third, fifth, or eighth day, and it would have 
been binding. Once only by divine authority has the day for holy 
rest been change 1 from the seventh to the first day of the week, to 
celebrate the greatest event the world ever saw: but the duty of con- 
secrating a seventh portion of time— one day in seven — renainsas 
it was in the beginning. 

"The moral laws of the ten commandments are the standards of 
right and wrong. By them we see our own depravity, by our utter 
inability to keep them we see our need of salvation through Christ, who 
perfectly obeyed the laws for us. They are the roots from which all 
piety, all morality, all happiness grows. Destroy them, and you 
destroy the foundations of civilization, Without the observance of 
the moral laws, the empires of the world would be shattered ii.to a 
million fragments, and the glory of the human species would rapidly 
fade away. The ten commandments stand or fall together. If 
one is binding, so is the other. They are God's laws, and shall 



154 ABE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



mortal man dare to alter them. All of them are essential to mans' 
hnpplnees and God's glory; and He who gave them alone has the 
power to alter them in any particular." • pp. 19-22. 

The work of Nicholas Bownde D. D., entitled "The True Doctrine 
of the Sabbath," etc., etc. (London 1606), did more than any other 
work ever written to prove that a seventh day was binding instead of 
the seventh day. It was a reply to the Seventh Day Baptists, who 
kept the Saturday for their Sabbath. 

In the extracts we have given we are not left in any doubt about 
the meaning we are to attach to the word moral : with them all it is 
a natural law, binding alike on all the human race. Therefore we 
are brought face to face with the proposition, Do the laws of nature 
teach us to observe a seventh portion of time to worship God ? 

Now to have answered that question intelligently in the affirmat- 
ive, the supporters of this theory ought to have furnished us with 
evidence to prove beyond the possibility of doubt that it has beem 
and still is, and ever will be the universal custom among the human 
race, in all parts of the earth, to observe a seventh day as a day of 
rest and worship, as a natural law of their existence, and without the 
observance of which they could not exist. 

Never was there a greater error propounded, and the marvel is that 
it lives and thrives in this nineteenth century. But let us revert to 
our authorities and examine their evidence. 

The Roman " Catechismus ad Pariochos" (quoted on p. 112, par* 
5), says: 

"But this commandment agrees not with the others on any rite 
or ceremony, except in so far as it has anythirg in it which pertains 
to manners and the law of nature ; for the worship of God and re- 
ligion, which is expressed in the commandment, corresponds with 
that in nature, which prompts us to employ a few hours in matters 
relating to the worship of God. The heathen do this, and it is 
as natural iu man as to devote some time to eating and drinking, 
to rest, to sleep, and such like." 

Does nature prompt the heathen to employ a few hours in the 
worship of God ? Let us see. 

H. M. Stanley's " Darkest Africa." Vol. II. 

Chap. XXIII. ' ; No traces of any religion can be found among the 
Wahuma. These people having no literature, and undisturbed by the 
advent of superior iufluences among them, have only learned what 
has been communicated to them by their parents, who have re- 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 155 

ceived from their progenitors such few funcitons and customs as 
were necessary for existence and preservation of their particular 
tribal distinctions. Thus the unlettered tribes of the long unknown 
regions are discovered to be practicing such customs habits and pre- 
cepts as must have distinguished the ancestors of the founders of 
the pyramids in the dark, pre-historic ages of Egypt." p. 368. 

I have spent five years of my life among the Indians of British 
Columbia, and have come in contact with the tribes from Alaska to 
San Francisco. I have seen them in a state of nature, but I have 
never seen one observing this law of nature in setting apart the 
(or a) seventh day for the worship of God. In fact, they have 
not the slightest idea of a God. for like the Wahnmae of Africa, they 
have no literature, consequently they have preserved no history, 
The water tribes can make a canoe and roughly carve a totem pole. 
This is the extent of their arts. So far as any know] out the 

the sum moon and stars set in the heaven for signs and for season-. 
their mind is a perfect blank. When I questioned an old Indian whom 
I had known for some time about the sun. all I could get out of him 
was, " that he would sell me the son for a dollar," his meaning being 
that he would be willing to work for me cutting up lire wood until 
dark or sundown. Beyond this I could get no information as to 
what he thought the sun was. He had never heard an opinion expressed 
by any of his and was mentally incapable of forming an opinion, 

and was astounded at my asking such a question. Then I ques- 
tioned him about the time they went salmon fishing. He said, 
•• When the snow melts from yonder mountains the salmon begin to 
run. and then we go fishing, and when the berries are ripe why. of 
course, we gather them. And we catch enough salmon and gather 

:ugh berries to last until the salmon run a-aii:. ,? When asked his 
age, again he was puzzled ; but so far as married duties were con- 
cerned, why he had performed them faithfully to every woman in 
his tribe, and other tribes besides, where the opportunity occurred, 

Whether these tribes ever had the knowledge of a God is a ques- 
tion. The only link I could find v f roin which could be inferre I they 
had the ki r e), was the reference they made to the weather. 

Wlien it was windy and rough they would say, "He is awake and 
angry,'* and when it was cairn they would say. " He is asleep." There 
1- a belief among them that they live alter death in a sort of spirit 
world; but this is due to their dreams, for when they dream, or one 
of their departed, they think he is in want of something, and so they 



156 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

burn whatever they think it is. At the death, everything is burnt 
that belongs to him, canoe, fishing- tackle, blankets, etc., etc., the 
idea being that he will require them where he is gone. These tribes 
know nothing of the week, month or year, but by contact with the 
whites, and where there has' been no contact, their mind is a perfect 
blank ; and what we have said of these Indians is true of the millions 
and millions of heathen, from the pre-historic age down to our own 
time. Can we find any trace of a natural law among the millions of 
China, India and Japan which prompts men to set apart a seventh 
portion of time for the worship of God ? Can we find it amongst 
the most polished nations of antiquity — Egypt, Assyria, Persia, 
Media, Babylon, Greece, or Ancient Rome? The division of time 
into weeks of seven days, was quite unknown to these ancient na- 
tions, and the nations of to-day that have a knowledge of this 
division, it is by virtue of their contact with the ten commandments 
as the divine and positive law of God. Mr. Dixon (The Holy Land. 
Vol. II., p. 115) writes thus : 

" Among the many marks which stamped the Jews as a peculiar 
people, Sabbath observance was perhaps the one mark most distinct- 
ive and conspicuous. A Greek had his religious feast, a Syrian his 
gathering in the temple, an Egyptian his sacrifices and his prayers ; 
but no other people in the world had a seventh day of peculiar 
sanctity, as God's day on which no man would labour for the things 
that perish. The Greeks knew no Sabbath, the Philistine never 
ceased from his plough, the Sidonian from his ship. In Tiberias, in 
Ptolemais, one day was like another, A division of time into 
weeks was unknown in Athens, and became known in Rome only 
when the legions, learning it from the people of Alexandria, carried 
it westward from the Nile." 

Again, if the observance of a seventh day is natural or moral law, 
where is the necessity for God's covenant with the Hebraic race, "to- 
do and teach the ten commandments ? None whatever, for if the 
Sabbath observance is a natural law, then man in his state of nature 
is in possession of it ; but we know that " men by nature knows not 
God" (at least, this is what the apostle Paul tell us), and, admitting 
this, it follows that it is an impossibility to observe a day and set it 
apart to worship a something of which we have no knowledge. 

The natural law is that law which our nature gives to our actions- 
which contribute to our existence and the perpetuity of the race* 
and thus they are inate. Self-preservation is inate, and it is the 
first law of nature : and so by a natural law we, in common with all 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 157 

animated life, become our own protectors, and guardians of our own 
offspring. We eat, drink and sleep because it is natural to all life so 
to do, and when we reach manhood and womanhood we propagate 
our species in obedience to an inate law which nature gives to oui 
actions. But where is the inate law of nature teaching us to observe 
a seventh day. It is the wildest assertion ever made, and without 
an element of truth in it. 

Having shown that the Sabbatic law is not a natural or moral law 
and therefore not binding upon us on these grounds, it follows thai 
if the Sabbatic law is binding, it is because it is the positive laiu oj 
God, and will ever remain so until He who enacted it shall have set it 
aside. And this positive command insists upon us ever " to remem- 
ber the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou work, and 
do all that thou hast to do, but the SEVENTH DAY IS THE SAB- 
BATH OF THE LORD THY GOD, in it (the seventh day, and not 
the first), thou shalt do no manner of work," etc., etc. 

Now this being a positive law, we cannot divide it up into civil, 
moral, and ceremonial precepts, selecting for our obedience what 
these writers have been pleased to call the "moral part of the law," 
(i. e., a, seventh day), and overthrowing the ceremonial part of it 
{i. e., THE seventh day), divide this commandment just as you 
please. The whole, and not a part, is binding, because it is the positive 
law of God. From this there can be no appeal ; and what we have 
said of the fourth command, applies equally to all the command- 
ments. 

The great mistake that this class of writers make, is in assuming 
that the ten commandments are moral laws, and therefore natural; 
and as natural, binding alike upon the human race. Abolish the ten 
•commandments, they say, and we still have the moral precepts of 
them existing in the natural law ; therefore, while we abolish the 
laws of God, the ten commandments, we can never abolish the 
natural laws. They are inate, and are a sufficient guide of life. 

Let us see what this means. Let us admit for argument sake that 
the ten commandments are abolished, and that we are governed by 
moral laws. What moral or natural law forbids adultery ? None 
whatever. In fact, natural law urges us to commit such acts, and 
there can be no sin against the laws of nature, if both parties are 
willing and physically pure. And, further-, if nature in both parties 
assert its rightful claim, it would be a sfn against nature not to satisfy 
those claims. The positive law of God comes in and says "Thou 



I08 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

shalt not commit adultery." The natural law says, We know no- 
thing- about adultery in our state of nature; we are governed 
by natural laws. When and wherever nature asserts its claim, we 
satisfy that claim, and in doing so we obey the law of nature, and if 
we did not respond, we should be sinning against our natural laws." 

The atheist who seeks to overthrow the laws of God, takes up 
this latter argument, and preaches free love or free lust ; and if the 
ten commandments have been abrogated, his position is unassail- 
able, for in this case there can be no such thing as adultery or forni- 
cation. But our atheistical friend does not stop here. He sees in 
the two laws a flat contradiction, one his law of nature prompting 
him to do, the othex commanding him not to do ; and so he comes to 
the conclusion that the God of revelation is not the God of nature, 
if there be a God, and so he antagonises all ideas of a ruling Gov- 
ernor of the universe. 

The laws of God do not contradict the laws of nature. The God 
of nature, who implanted that law, which was for the specific pur- 
pose of perpetuating our species, is the God of revelation ; and why 
he gave us those ten commandments was to instruct us how best we 
can fulfil our mission in that respect, having in view the highest 
attainment of human happiness. Select your choice; love and cherish 
her, as she is a part of yourself : " the twain has become one," and you 
will find it simply impossible for all the pretty women in the world to 
alienate your love and affection. In your " heart of hearts" there is 
only one good and true woman in the wide world, and you possess 
her ; and you feel that you would not for all the world make any 
other your sleeping partner. And when the firstborn presents him- 
or herself, why then there is only one pretty baby in the wide wide 
world, and you are the proud possessor and father of it. 

Here you have the philosophy of human life solved, the attainment 
of human happiness, the law of nature following as the law of revela- 
tion directs, and we see that the result is crowned with the highest suc- 
cess, for the very summit and perfection of human happiness has been 
attained. There is no contradiction here : the God of nature is the 
God of revelation. In the former He is the Creator and implanter, 
in the latter He is the instructor, director and preserver. His rela- 
tion being that of the Father instructing and exercising his parental 
care over His creation. 

Let us take the command, " Thou shalt do no murder," which 
Whateley says (see page 111), is a moral command which inculcates a 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 159 

universal obligation, because it is a natural law. " We do not," he 
says, " obey this law because Moses, Mahomet or Solon enjoined it, 
for no part of the Koran or the law of Moses is binding on Christians, 
since their conduct is not determined by the Koran, but by the 
nature of the case." 

I admit that we are not bound by the Koran, neither are we bound 
by any moral or natural law forbidding us to murder, for nature 
nowhere suggest to us that it is wrong to commit murder, but just 
the reverse. The Chinese have a saying which fitly describes tne 
law of nature, " The big fish eat little fish, and the little fish eat 
mud." 

Mr. Stead, in commenting on the death of Professor Tyndall, in 
the Review of Reviews (Jan. 15th, 1894, p. 12), says: 

II The year of the professor's death is the year of the Romanes 
Lectures on Ethics and Evolution, in which Professor Huxley con- 
fessed that the formula of the survival of the fittest ■ through the 
struggle for existence,' supplied no adequate guidance for the moral 
life; that the ' gladiatorial theory of existence' must be repudiated; 
and that the ethical progress lay not in complying with, but in com- 
batting the ' cosmic process.' " 

"Similarly, in the concluding volume just referred to, Mr. Herbert 
Spencer frankly admits that for the scientific treatment of negative 
and positive beneficence, " the doctrine of evolution has not furn- 
ished guidance to the extent I had hoped." When he comes to 
deal with the highest moral life of man — with that order of exist- 
ence which, according to his system, forms the summit of the as yet 
known evolution of the universe — he finds his doctrine of evolution 
proving an insufficient guide. These utterances of the chief philoso- 
phers and of the chief popular expositors of the evolutionary school, 
combined with the death of its brilliant and oratorical fighting man, 
to make lbl'6 a memorable year in the history of evolution." 

" What ought I to do ?" and " What is my duty ?" are problems 
which have engaged the attention of philosophers of every age. 
The problem has never been solved, and never can be, and the 
discussion is still on, and ever will be until the ten commandments 
and the sermon on the mount are accepted as the standard and rule of 
our faith and action. Accept this, the problem is for ever solved. 
Let us beware of the sophisticated arguments, from whatever source 
they may come, that would dethrone the ten commandments, and 
enshrine in their place the moral philosophy or natural laws. Let 
us contrast the teaching of the ancient philosophers and their moral 



160 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 



philosophies with the ten commandments, and then see if we shall 
be the gainers by the exchange. 

41 Philo Jndeaus. Vol. III. A treatise on those special laws which 
are referable to two commandments in the decalogue, the sixth 
and seventh, against adulterers and all lewd persons, and against 
murderers and all violence. 

Chap. III. "Moreover the law has laid down other admirable 
regulations with regard to carnal conversations, for it commands 
men not only to abstain from the wives of others, but also from cer- 
tain relations with whom it is not lawful to cohabit ; therefore 
Moses, detesting and loathing the customs of the Persians, repudi- 
ates them as the greatest possible impiety, for the magistrates of the 
Persians marry even their own mothers, and consider the offspring 
of such marriages the most noble of men, and as it is said, they 
think them worthy of the highest sovereign authority. And yet 
what can be a more flagitious act of impiety than to defile the bed 
of one's father, after he is dead, which it would be rather to preserve 
untouched, as sacred ; and to feel no respect either for old age or for 
one's mother, and for the same man to be both the son and the hus- 
band of the same woman, and again for the same woman to be both 
mother and wife of the same man, and for the children of the two 
to be the brothers of their father and the grandsons of their mother, 
and for that same woman to be both mother and grandmother of 
those children whom she has brought forth, and for the man to be 
at the same time both the father and the uterine brother of those 
whom he has begotten. These enormities formerly took place 
among the Greeks, in the case of GB dipus, the son of Laius." 

Chap. IV. " The Athenian lawgiver, Solon, permitted men to 
marry their sisters by the same father, but forbade them to marry 
those by the same mother. But the lawgiver of the Lacedaemon- 
ians, on the other hand, allowed of marriages between brothers and 
sisters by the same mother, but forbade those between the brothers 
and sisters by the same father; while the lawgiver of the Egyptians, 
ridiculing the cautious timidity of the others, as if they had estab- 
lished imperfect ordinances, gave the reins to lasciviousness, supply- 
ing in great abundance that most incurable evil of intemperance, 
both to soul and body, and permitting men fearlessly and with im- 
punity to marry all their sisters, whether by both parents or by one, 
or by either, whether father or mother, and that too not only if 
younger than, but even when older than, or of the same age as them- 
selves ; for twins are very often born, which nature, indeed at their 
very birth, has disserved and separated, but which incontinence and 
love of pleasure has invited to an association which ought never to 
be entered into." p. 309. 

Hesiod of old, contrasting the brute creation with man, says, 
" They devour one anooner because they have no right or law amongst 



ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 161 

them." The prophet (Hab. i. 14) says, however, "Men are as the 
fishes of the sea; as creeping things that have no ruler over them." 
Cicero (Tusc. 1) says, "That the common consent of all nations in 
anything, is to be thought the law of nature." And Aristotle also 
(Rhetoric lib. 1, c. 14), calls it "a common law" unwritten, pertain- 
ing to all; and adds, " That wmich is common is according to nature, 
for there is something which all men think, and this is common 
right or justice by nature, although there should be neither so- 
ciety or compact between them," and he quotes Empedocles, v/ho 
says, "that it is not that which is just to some and unjust to others; 
but that which is right amongst all, spread out with immense right 
by the broad ruling sky." 

Now all this reads very beautiful, but what were those Jaws that 
were natural and of universal force ? When we examine the teach- 
ing of the various schools of philosophers, we are in a maze. Some 
maintained that incest and sodomy was lawful, and this view was 
supported by the magi and some of the most learned Greeks, as Zeno 
and Chrysippus. 

It w r as the judgment of Theodorus, that neither theft or adultery, 
nor sacrilege, had anything evil or filthy in them, in their own nature, 
so that a wise man ought to have respect to them, according to cir- 
cumstances and occasions. Plato's promiscuous use of wives was 
actually confirmed by a law of Sparta. And Archelaus was of opin- 
ion that nothing was just or unjust, good or evil, but by virtue of 
some arbitrary law, and he is supported by Aribtippus and Can- 
reades. And Plato, speaking of the conflicting ideas there existed 
about the nature and limits of good and evil, virtue and vice, honest 
and filthy, and just and unjust, which they could never determine, 
says, " that if any one name either silver or iron, all men immediate- 
ly understand what is intended ; but if they speak of that which is 
j ust and good, presently we are at variance with others and among 
ourselves." 

And so there were no less than 288 sects of philosophers, so St. 
Augustine tells us (City of God, book xix), quoting Verro the histor- 
ian as authority. However, there is certainly one law of nature 
which we must all subscribe to, whether we like it or not. That 
law of nature which Brennus, the terror of Europe, insisted should 
be obeyed, i. e., that the weaker should obey the stronger. And the 
commander of the Gauls, who besieged the Roman capiual, when he 
agreed to depart on their giving him a certain weight of gold, threw 
M 



162 ARE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 

his sword into the scale against it, giving no other reason for what 
he did but " woe to the conquered !" 

As for moral philosophy ruling the world, why such a thing does 
not exist, for no one can define it. It is a misnomer, and the more 
one pursues it, the thicker the darkness becomes. Just take, as an 
example, Paley's theory of morals. He defines virtue as " the doing 
good to mankind in obedience to the will of God, and for the sake of 
everlasting happiness." According to this theory, as has been point- 
ed out, that every act instigated solely by the prompting of gener- 
osity or benevolence must be a vice, and Moses, Joshua, and the 
Children of Israel never did a good act in all their lives. Impossible, 
for their acts certainly were not prompted "for the sake of everlasting 
happiness," for they knew nothing about the future life — heaven or 
hell. This was a later revelation, through the prophets. 

The systems of ethics which have been termed inductive, utili- 
tarian or selfish, and intuitive, independent, or sentimental, can- 
not determine the question : What I ought to do ? or, What is my 
duty ? What is vice in one country is considered virtue in an- 
other ; and when we hear of the most frightful atrocities and mur- 
ders our feelings are entirely governed by the circumstances. Dur- 
.ing the Franco-Prussian war, at the capture of Sedan, when thous- 
ands were hurled into eternity, as soon as the news reached Berlin, 
the entire nation were in ecstacies of joy, the cathedrals and 
churches were thronged, bells pealing, chroisters singing, 

*' Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 
Ten thousand Frenchmen sent below ; 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, 
We've captured Sedan by the Holy Ghost." 

But what about the poor Frenchmen? Did they join in the 
chorus ? Abolish the ten commandments, and this thing will go on 
for ever. On the other hand, do and teach them, what we Anglo- 
Israelites have promised to do, and all wars will forever cease, for 
the simple reason that men will no longer be governed by natural, 
or what they think is natural, or moral law, but by the positive 
law of God, which forbids murder (sixth command). 

And now w r e will notice the arguments of our atheistical friends 
who want to abolish the laws — those who simply view them as of 
human origin, brought into existence simply by the force of circum- 
stances, good for the time when they were promulgated, but obsolete 
now. Adopt, they say, tiie golden rule, which was the rule of action 



AUE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED? 163 

before Christ, and there will be no necessity for a God or devil, heaveD 
or hell. Get rid of these superstitions, and the zenith of human hap- 
piness will be attained. The golden rule by Jesus Christ, in His Ser- 
mon on the mount : " Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that 
men should do to you. do ye even so to them, for this is the law and 
the prophets,' 5 Matt. vii. 12. "And as ye would that men should 
do to you. do ye also to them likewise." Luke vi. 31. 

Xow I hold, if every man on God's earth, lived up to the golden rule 
as his rule of life and action, it would not usher in the realization of 
the wild dreams of our atheistical friends. The golden rule by itself 
is useless and worthless and utterly impracticable for universal appli- 
cation. It is all right in its place, but worthless out of its place. 
Let us examine this. 

When travelling in British Columbia, in search of a location for a 
temperance colony, we had to do a great deal of canoeing, in order 
to reach, those parts of the country we wanted to explore. One 
evening in June we camped at the mouth of a small river near Cape 
Scott, the northern end of Vancouver Island, on its eastern side. 
The Indians had erected a split-boarded cedar hut, which they used 
in the salmon fishing season, and being uninhabited we took up our 
quarters there for the night. We had a large fire in the centre, and 
was just about to retire, when a number of Indians and Indian 
women came into the hut. They had come from the western side 
of Vancouver Island, rounded Cape Scott, and intended to put up 
for the night in the hut. The chief gave me a piece of paper to 
read, and it ran as follows, written in black lead pencil : 

" The bearer of this is the chief of the Kwatsino Sound Indians. 
West Coast, and I have found him not very honest." 

This note was signed by Dr. G. M. Dawson, of the Canadian Geo- 
logical Survey. I handed it to my guide, Mr. West Huson, a 
white man. who had been a trader among the Indians. He assured 
me, however, that Professor Dawson had made a mistake; but I 
noticed that he took precious good care of our camping kit, all the 
same. 

Seating myself by the fire. I was soon surrounded by some of the 
iadies of the party — they were the Amazons of Vancouver Island. 
Painted faces, red and black, not applied with the brush of the 
artist, but with the hands. They were clothed in Indian blankets, 
'and were pressing so close to me that I thought they were over- 
stepping the bounds of decency. 
M 2 



164 ABE THE COMMANDMENTS ABOLISHED ? 

I said to my guide, " What is the meaning of all this ?" 

"Oh," he said, "they are only making love to you, Mr. Spencer. 
They are like the birds of the air, they have no idea of anything 
wrong." It was a question of love at first sight. 

Now these Indian women were living the golden rule also, " And 
as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them like- 
wise," had been their rule of life from the time natural law 
asserted its claims: and among that tribe of Indians, the gold- 
en rule was the only rule that ruled their life and action ; and, 
as a consequence, the practice of the golden rule among them 
was free love, pure and simple. In my case, why I could not ac- 
cede to their requests, was because the golden rule was embodied 
in the sermon on the mount, and that sermon being Christ's com- 
mentary on the ten commandments, I had to accept the whole as 
my rule of life, and not a part , and as G-od f orbid's adultery, and 
Christ insists that the licentious look at a woman is adultery, I had 
to rule my life and actions accordingly. 

But our atheistical friends who overthrow the ten command- 
ments and the sermon on the mount, and simply take the gold- 
en rule as their rule of life and action, could not logically have 
resisted the claim of these ladies. So polished a gentleman, for 
instance, as Colonel Ingersoll, who rejects the ten commandments, 
could not possibly have been so ungentlemanly as not to recipro- 
cate these loving overtures. He could plead no possible excuse, 
except physical infirmity; and being a gentleman, honest in his 
convictions, and ever putting into practice what he preaches, he 
would have accommodated the Indian ladies. Not to have done 
so, would have forever shattered his "golden rule," and this he 
could not do, for he is a gentleman of integrity and uprightness ; 
his word is his bond. 

Although Indians, with no knowledge of the ten commandments, 
adopt the golden rule among themselves, and like the birds of the 
air mate for procreative purposes, yet when the white man rules his 
life with the same golden rule (rejecting the commandments), and 
responds to the overtures of these Indian women, ib is not to mate 
like the birds of the air, neither is it a question of free love, but for 
the gratification of sensual passions. Thus we see that while the 
golden rule may be the rule of life and action of two different races, 
yet it is perfectly useless when the customs of those races are not 
the same. 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1007 

CHAPTER XIII. 

HOW THE JEWS, SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST, AND SEVENTH- 
DAY ADVENTISTS CAME TO OBSERVE THE SIXTH 
DAY AS THEIR SABBATH. 
When I first became interested in the Sabbath question. I wrote 
to the Rev. W. Mead Jones, then pastor of the Seventh-day Baptist 
church, Goodman's Fields, London, England, for information and 
evidence, which would prove that Saturday, the day he kept, was 
the seventh day of the week. The Rev. gentleman in his courteous 
reply, reminded me of the fact that the Jews kept Saturday as &s 
Sabbath all over the world. This I admitted, but what I waia*^ 
was evidence to prove that the Jews had always kept the same day, 
i. e. Saturday as their Sabbath. My Reverend friend assured me 
that they never kept any other day, and to prove this, he sent me on 
his "Table of Days" showing the unchanged order of the days of the 
week, in various languages, "Sabbath Memorial," July, 1875. p. 12. 
This Table did not satisfy me, for I found in every ancient language 
where the days of the week were numbered, that Monday was the 
first day, e. g. Russian Ponedielnik, i.e., first, our Monday; Vtornih 
i.e., second, our Tuesday, Srieda, i. e., middle, our Wednesday; Chet- 
victok, i.e., fourth our Thursday; Piatoh, i.e., fifth, our Friday; 
Soobbota, i.e., Sabbath, our Saturday; Voskriesenye, i.e., Resurrec- 
tion, our Sunday. This arrangement struck us as being very sin- 
gular — i.e., Monday first day, Wednesday middle day, Sabbath gixth 
day, Resurrection seventh day. My friend's contention was that the 
name Sabbath identified that day as the seventh. If sc, I said, whj 
should it be the sixth in the order and not the seventh ? My friend 
never answered my query. Shortly afterwards he kindly for- 
warded to rne a "Table of days" of the week in all the European 
languages, prepared by H. I. H. Prince Louis Bonaparte, by my 
friend, Mr. Jones' request for the " Sabbath Memorial." This table 
of days was published July 1880, p. 189. In this we have the n&.\3ses 
of the days of the week in 52 languages. Upon a careful examin- 
ation of this chart I likewise found the same arrangement, e. g., the 
Lettish (Baltic Russia) the last given in the table, Prince Louis 
gives sesdina, the Lettish name for Saturday and then gives us its 
etymological meaning, i.e. sixth day {of work), and yet he places it in 
the Sabbath column. No. 11, Vogul (Russia) chorit chotel, the nam© 



100 8 How the Jews Changed 'Jheik hABBATH. 

for our Saturday, and then gives us its etymological meaning and 
translates it "s xth day of work," and likewise places this in the Sab- 
bath or seventh day column, and informs us, on pnge 191, that 4i thi$ 
name excludes all idea of holiness from it." No. 29, old High Ger- 
man sunnun aband, the name for Saturday, he translates Sun(day) 
eve, and places it in the seventh day column, and Sunnan dag in the 
first day column. In this case he has separated the eve from the day to 
which it belongs and made two days out of one day, i.e. Sunday. Now 
it is clear that if Saturday was the day on which the eve of Sunday 
did fall, then the day that follows the eve must be the same day, night 
and day — following the old High German 6tyle. This 'Table of 
days" was sent on to me by my friend to convince me that Saturday 
is the Sabbath. H. I. H. Prince Louis was a Roman Catholic, and 
by the way, he or any one else perhaps is none the worse for that, 
accepting the teaching of his church has beyond question, tried to 
make it appear that Sunday is the first day and Saturday the 
seventh. In the Planetary order, or the arrangement of the seven 
Saxon gods, there was nothing in the names themselves to determine 
which was the first or last in the weekly cycle, and so he places 
Sunday as the first day. However, when he comes to the languages 
where the days of the week are numbered, he is confronted with 
the fact that, in every case (excepting one i. e. the Portuguese) 
Monday is the first day e. g. Morduin. (Russia); Old Slave, (Bulga- 
ria); Russian, (Russia); Ulyrian, (Servia); New Slovenian. (Illyria, in 
Austria); Bulgarian, (Bulgaria): Polish, (Poland); Bohemian, (Bohe- 
mia); Lusatian, (Saxony); Po'.abic, (Borders of the Elbe); Lithuanian 
(Prussian Lithuania); Prussian, (Prussia); Lettish, (Baltic Russia). In 
ail these languages Monday is the first day and strange to say the 
Sabbath is the name for Saturday the sixth day of the week and 
Wednesday is called the "Middle day" Sreda, Srieda, Sereda, Sreda, 
S?jeda, Sjroda, Streda. 

This chart which was prepared to show that Sunday was the first 
day and Saturday the Seventh day, proves conclusively that 
Monday was the first day, that Wednesday was the third or Middle 
day and that the Sabbath was the sixth day. 

This chart was sent to me by my friend Mr. Jones without any 
explanation whatever touching the matter. This chart has since 
been enlarged and contains the names of the days of the week in 160 
languages and dialects. The author however has failed to prove 
that Sunday is the first day of the week. I must admit that there 



How the Jews Changed Thkir Sabbath. 1009 

was some weight in my friend's argument i. e. that the Jews kept 
the Saturday as their Sabbath throughout the world, and if the 
Saturday-Sahbnth is not the Sabbath, when did they lose a day? 

These are pertinent questions, we admit, but their solution is not 
necessary to del ermine the point at issue. We claim that in Chap- 
XII we have proved that Sunday is the seventh day, and in 
Chap X. that Saturday is not the Seven th-day-Sabbath which God 
sanctified. 

If our bretheren the Jews, the Seventh-day-Baptist or Seventh- 
day- Adventists demur, they must set aside the evidence we have pro- 
duced if they can. Until th« y can do this, we claim, and rightly 
so, that they are keeping the wrong day for the Sabbath, although 
they impute this wrong doing to us. But in order to put the quest- 
ion beyond doubt we will solve the problem raised by these "Table 
of days", i. e. Monday the first day, Wednesday the third or middle 
day, Sabbath the sixth day. The following extract is from a Roman 
Catholic Dictionary: 

''Sunday used to be reckoned from evening to evening i. e. the 
sanctifiication of the day began on Saturday and ended on Sunday 
evening*. 'It was' says Thomassin 'about the eleventh or twelfth 
century that after the abolition of public vigils, people begun the 
celebration of Sundays and feasts on the morning of the same day". 
He quotes Gratian ('De Consec. d 3. c. 1.') Gregory IX. ('Extra de 
Feriis, c, 1. 2 ). who recognizes the old custom; Alexander III. (ib.) 
who speaks of both customs as existing in his time; and Haytho, 
Bishop of Basle in his Capitulary (cap. 8) who says simply that Sun- 
day lasts 'a mane ad usque vespeiiam' .... The word Sab- 
bath is kept in the Greek and in the Latin of the church to denote 
Saturday — a day which is not sacred among Christians. In com- 
memoration of Christ's resurrection the church observes Sunday." — 
Addis & Arnold* * Catholic Die. Art. Sunday. 

"Jerome Ep. CIX" and "Adv, Vigilant." defends the custom (of 
Vigils) against Vigiliantius, admitting however, the grave immorali- 
ty by which they were sometimes accompanied. It was probably 
these and other abuses which led to the discontinuance of the devo- 
tions." Id. Art. Vigil. 

Sabbath, and Lord's day in the pratistical writings previous to the 

time of the change always referred to the Service that was celebrated 
on Saturday or Sabbath night, and Lord's-day night, e. g. the Apos- 
tolic Constitutions; Tertullian. When however the night festival was 
done away with and the service was celebrated "on the morning of 
the same day", this changed the numbering of the days of the week. 

T T T 



iOlC How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

Lord's-day night was changed to Sunday morning, and the Sabbath 
night service to Saturday morning and this changed the name from 
Saturday to Sabbath day. Hence in all the Imperial laws of Rome 
we always find Saturday used and never once Sabbath for Saturday. 
When however the Vigil is pushed back (not forward) the word Sab- 
bath takes the place of the word "Saturday", and Lord's-day- takes 
the name of Sunday. This explains the word Sabbath being used 
to designate the sixth day of the week in the languages we have re- 
viewed and also in the Planetary Cycle of the Romans e. g. French 
before the change, Lundi, yirs t day; Mardi, second day; Mercredi, 
third day; Judi, fourth day: Vendredi, fifth day: Saturni, sixth day; 
die Solis, seventh day. After the change, when the Vigils had been 
removed we have the order thus: Lundi, first day; Merdi, second 
day; Mercredi, third day; Judi, fourth day; Vendreii. fifth day; Sa- 
medi, Sabbath-day, sixth day; Dimanche, the seventh day. Thus 
we see that the vigil of the Lord's resurrection is set bacK and cele- 
brated in conformity with the Greek church and said on the morn- 
ing of the seventh day, and the Sabbath service said on the morning 
of the sixth day. Charles, the Great, has the credit for doing away 
with the Vigils of the Lord's day, but retained the Vigil of Christ- 
Mass, the midnight mass; and this we believe was the only exception. 
The only European countries where the "Saturday" has not been 
supplanted by the name "Sabbath" are Ireland, Wales, Cornwall in 
England, Breton in France, Albanian in Turkey. England and her Co- 
lonies and Holland. The Rev. W, M. Jones has also given a Table 
of Days in the Asiatic and African languages. The Sabbath has 
been cut into two parts; e. g. the Galla, Abyssinia; Little Sabbath sev- 
enth day, Festival Sabbath first day. This is Mr. Jones' chart 
but Little Sabbath is our Saturday eve, and Festival Sabbath is our 
Sunday or the Seventh day. 

The Sabbath and Lord's day were not the only days that were set 
back, but all the festivals that were celebrated at night, e. g. the Vi- 
gil of the Crucifixion or Parasceve was celebrated on Saturday nigh 
(i. e. our Friday night) and afterwards it was celebrated on the 
"morning of the same day" i. e. Friday, and in this way all the ferias 
were set back or speaking from a Jewish point of view set back from 
the first day to the seventh and from the seventh day to the sixth 
day; and from the sixth day to the fifth day &c ; and this accounts 
for the Portuguese numbering the days making Sunday or Domingo 
the first feria; Monday, the second feria; Tuesday, the third feria; 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1011 

Wednesday, the fourth, feria; Thursday, the fifth feria; Friday, the 
sixth feria; Sabbado, the seventh feria. The Portuguese were the 
only people that adopted Pope Silvester's ferias and pushed them all 
back a day. Now the Saturday- Sabbath, whether it is the sixth day 
of the week as in Russia, Poland, etc., or the seventh day of the 
Portuguese has never been a holy or sacred day, but a secular 
day and never was kuown in history as being identified with the 
seventh day of the fourth Commandment. 

When William, the Conquerer came to England he introduced the 
Curfew law (which he probably brought from Normandy) and did 
away with the Vigils of the churches and set the services back. He 
surveyed the land in the kingdom, and had it entered into the 
"Great Register — the Doomsday Book" which was finished A. D 
1086. It is the most valuable Monument of Antiquity possessed 
by any nation, (and still in good gtate of preservation in the Roll 
Office Fetter Lane, London). The Norman scribes employed in the 
work have designated Saturday, the Sabbath ; and Sunday, Lord's 
day ; and the other days of the week, are designated by their plane 
taryname; (the work is written in Latin), and in one place they 
have used the word Sabbath for peace." 

The Registrars, however, have never applied the word Sabbath to 
the seventh-day or Sunday. This is also true with reference to our 
journals in the House of Lords and Commons; and also true of our 
proceedings in the Courts of Law, and in the endorsement of our 
Acts of Parliament; and in the proceedings of our Town Councils, 
Registers; and public documents. He was the first to appoint Justices 
of the Peace. Where the Latin was used previous to William's time 
the Sabbath of the Latin always referred to the seventh day of the 
week, and was used interchangeable with Sunday in our Statutes 
Laws; e. g. Edward, the Confessor, A. D. 1056 . . "and every Sabbath 
(Sabbatis in one text and dies Sabbatorum in another text) from the 
ninth hour, and through the whole following day till Monday;" and 
William the Conquerer's Sunday law as preserved by Roger 
Hovenden; p. 601, reads: "Item Omnibus Sabbatis ab hora nona u*- 
que ad diem Lunae." 

And Edgar's law quoted by Selden (Analection Anglo Britanicon p 
99 ) reads: ' 'Sabbath day which is Saturn's day, is three o'clock 
(Midday) until Monday at dawn ; festival let us keep." See Latin 
texc p. 537*3. 

T T T 3 



1012 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



Having given the origin of the S iturday-Sabbath we will now pro. 
ceed to answer the question: "When did the Jews change their Sun- 
day-Sabbath for the Saturday-Sabbath?" My reply to that question 
is, the Jews changed their Sabbath-day a short time after they re- 
turned to England under Oliver Cromwell. They went from En- 
gland keeping the Sunday laws as found in the statutes f r we ne- 
ver find any law passed which made them exempt from the obser- 
vance of the Statutes. 

And the historical evidence, both affirmative and negative, conclu- 
sively proves that up to the XIII Century the Jews kept the 
game day for the Sabbath as the Christians, i. e. Sunday. The Jews 
now keep a different day i. e. Saturday for their Sabbath and con- 
sequently they have lost a day. 

Now, if the reader will carefully go through as I have done all 
the writings extant of the Anti-nicene Fathers, he will not find a 
single instance where the Christians kept a different Sabbath from 
the JewB. We never find the Christians accused (as we do to-day) 
by any one, Pagan, Christian or Jew of keeping the Sabbath on the 
first day, eighth day or on any other day but the seventh day of the 
week. We have apologies from the Assyrio- Catholics for holding 
their Assembles on Dominica nocte, when they celebrated the feast 
of Creation. We have apologies from the Galillean Christians for 
celebrating their feast of Charity on the eighth day, thus typifying 
the great "eighth day that hath no ending". But we never find an 
apoogy for keeping the Sabbath, for both Christian and Jew 
kept the fourth Commandment, 

What we do find however, is a fierce and bitter controversey bet- 
ween the Jew and Christian as to the proper observance of the Sab. 
bath. The Pharisees on their part maintained a literal interpreta. 
tion of the words "in it thon shalt do no manner of work'\ Hence 
they abstained from doing good works or works of mercy: while the 
Christians on their part, gave the law r a Spiritual interpretation, and 
while they abstained from worldly persuits they did not abstain from 
doing good; in visiting the sick, etc. This controversary arose in the 
times of the Prophets. Our Lord, in his times used his influence 
on the side of those who did not refrain from doing good on the 
Sabbath. This comes out in the "Gospel of Nicodemus". (A. D. 400) 

Chap. I "The Jews came to Pilate accusing the Lord Jesus Christ 
of many things ... he also breaks the Sabbath and does away 
with the law of our fathers. . . . We have a law not to heal any 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 1013 



one on the Sabbath, but he by evil art? heals on the Sabbath the lame, 
and the hunchbacked, the blind, the palsied, the leper and the demo- 
niac." .... 

Chap. II "For what reason do they, the Jews, wish to put Jesus to 
death, and they said that they are angry because he heals on the 
Sabbath day. Pilate said for a good work do they wish to put him 
to death. They said to him: Yea, Lord". 

Anti-Nicene Christian Library, Edin. Ed. Vol. XVI p. 181. 

The Christian accepted the teaching of Christ as authoritive on 
the question continued to observe the Sabbath as taught by Christ. 

So the bitter controversary went on and on to the 1 3 fch century 
and not a word was said on either side accusing each other of keep, 
ing the wrong day. Tertullian, A, D. 200, speaks of the Sabbath 
and Sunday as being one and the same day. (See extract on p. 498) 
In A. D. 32 L wa have have the first Sunday law by Constantine* 
(See p. 503) It is quite true what Eusebius speaks of the Lord's 
day, "As the first and chief of all the days of our Lord and Saviour 
that day the name of which is connected with light and life". (See 
p. 750). 

Eusebiu3, an Assyrio- Catholic, speaks of the popular planetary 
day, a day which included the whole of the following night, i. e. day 
and night, and this night Dominica node, the night the Assyrio- Ca. 
tholic celebrated the feast of Creation. "And Goo said let there be 
light; and there was light." Genesis 1, 3-5. Eusebius is exultant 
over the fact that Saturn had been dethroned by Constautine as the 
first and chief of the weekly cycle, and the Dominica node had taken 
its place. Eusebius, however, uses the words Sabbath and Lord's 
day interchangeably, for having used the pagan style, i. e. day and 
night, he is compelled to explain that Constantine's Sunday law em- 
braced a part at least of the day before the Sunday. His language 
is, 4, he enjoined on all his subjects of the Roman empire to observe 
the Lord's day (i. e. Sabbath) as a day of rest and also to honor the 
day which precedes the Sabbath". This day was not Friday 
as we have pointed out on p. 7 i8, but was Saturday eve, the prepa. 
artion for the Sabbath; and if Eusebius had adopted the style as re. 
commended by Pope Sylvester, i. e. night and day, the word Sabbath 
would have included the day before the Sabbath, i. e, from Saturday 
3 P. M. Constantine's law was not the diesolis of the planetary week 
which the Romans had but recently adopted. But the die solis — 
"the venerable day" of his victorious army the Barbarians, the Celts 



1014 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

the Germans and the Britions; and their day like the Hebrew, com- 
meDced with the eve, or in the language of Eusebius, "the day be- 
fore"; and this explains Constantine's Sunday law, which took in the 
eve; and this and the laws that follow were in favor of the seventh 
day aud not of the first. 

This is clear from the following facts: The first Sunday law A # 
D. 321 is designated by the Emperor, "the venerable day". In July 
of the same year the Emperor styles it "the day of the Sun, honored 
for its own sacredness". In A. D. 386 on "the day of the Sun", prop- 
erly called Lhe Lord's day by our ancestors. In A. D. 889 we have 
a revival of the pagan custom, of celebrating the first of January for 
rest; also the Natal days of Rome and Constantinople; and "the days 
of the sun as they follow each other in order, the Emperor's birthday 
or first day they saw auspicious light''. In A. D. 399 we have ' Lord's 
day which derives its name from the respect due to it". In A. D. 
409 we have the Sabbath referred to thus: "On the Sabbath day 
and other days, during which the Jews pay respect to their own 
mode of worship; we enjoin that no one shall do any thing or ought 
to be sued in any way" (See my remarks on p. 514). We give the 
Latin text as follows: 

A. D. 409. "Impp. Honorius et Theodosius, A. A. Jovio, P. P.: 

"De Sabbati ac reliquis sub tempore, quo Judaei cultus sui rever" 
entiam servant, neminem aut facere aliquid, aut ulla ex parte conve- 
niri debere precipimus, ita tamen ut nee detur licentia eodem die 
Cnristianos orthodoxos convenire, ne Christiani forte ex interpellatio" 
ne Judaearum ab afiicialibus, praefatis diebus, aliquam sustineat 
molestiam cum fiscalibus commodis, et litigiis privatorum constet re- 
iquos dies posse Bufficere. 

Dat. VIII. Kal. Aug. Ravennaa." 

In the same year and at the same place (Raveneae) we have 4 Hhe 
debtors brought out of prison on all the Lord's days"; and in another 
law of the same year we have "the Lord's day commonly called the 
day of the Sun". The Sunday laws that follow bear the title of Lord's 
day, until we come to the year A. D. 425, when we have the change. 
"On the Lord's day which is the first of the whole week". The 
change is due to the Astrological belief at that time. The number 
of dated inscriptions in the Catacombs giving name of the places 
and hour that such persons were born and died, etc. prove this; see 
p. 876-7. However., the day continued to be reckoned from the eve 
as formerly, and as continued in Rome and Italy down to our own 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1015 



time; notwithstanding- the Assyrio- Catholic style of commencing 
the day with midnight. 

From A. D, 321 to A. D. 425 all the Sunday laws referred to the 
Seventh day of the week, the Sabbath day of the Jews, and the Lord's 
day of the Christians. This is further evidenced by the fact that in 
A. D. 403 Chrysostom in his Homilies calls the Lord's day the sev- 
enth, and tells us that it was customary to meet on the "third day, 
which custom gave rise to naming the day "Middle" i. e. the mid" 
week service in the church, and that day is still observed by us f 
and servives in our Wednesday evening prayer meeting and 
preaching service. 

We now come to A. D. 439. Sozomen B. 1 C. 8. " But the day 
called the Lord's day which the Jews first named, the seventh, but 
the Greeks dedicate to the sun." Can language be more emphatic 
in testifying to the fact that both Jews. Christians and Greeks kept 
the same day, but designated it differently (see my remarks on p. 
748). If there is any doubt in the mind of the reader about the 
Jews keeping the same day as the Christians, carefully read "The 
Sabbath designated the Lord's day in the Church's Councils, pp. 776 
to 798. 

Let us take the history of the Jews in England, for example. 
There is not a siugle reference as far as I know from which we can 
infer that the Jews kept a different day from the Christians, up to 
the time of their expulsion by King Edward in A. D. 1290. Bede is 
the first to mention the Jews in the Easter controversy. 

Echbright, Archbishop of York, in his " Ecclesiastical Constitu- 
tions," A. D. 740, "Forbids Christians being present at any Jewish 
feast." 

Vol. l.p. 218. 
Johnson's Laws and Canons of the Chureh of England. 

Again in A. D. 1268 Henry III in Council made several laws af- 
fecting the Jews : 4i No Jew could reside in the kingdom but as the 
King's serf." "Service was to be performed in the synagogue in a 
low tone, so as not to offend the ears of Christians." Milman in 
describing the distress of the Jews says: "Such was the distress 
caused by this inexorable mandate [act of Henry of Winchester"! 
that even the rival bankers the Caorsini, and the Friars themselves 
were moved to commiseration, though some complained that the 
wild outcries raised in the synagogue on this doleful occasion dis- 
turbed the devotions of the Christians in the neighboring- churches." 



1016 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

(Hist, of Jews, p. 4()G-7.) It does not appeal from this that the 
Jews had a different day from the Christians for worship. Id all 
the laws passed affecting the Jews there is not a single instance 
where the Jews are forbidden to keep their Sabbath and observe the 
Christian Sabbath instead. We have a public debate promoted by 
William Ruf us between the Bishops aud Rabbins; but we do not hear of 
any discussion as to whic a was the right day to be observed as the 
Sabbath, i. e. Saturday-Sabbath or Sunday-Sabbath, although both 
days at that time were designated the Sabbath in England. Neither 
do we hear that the King profanely swore by the face of St. Lnke 
that if the Rabbins proved that if the Saturday-Sabbath was the right 
day that the King would abrogate all the laws that referred to the 
Sunday-Sabbath and exalt the Sabbath of Saturday as the true 
Sabbath to be observed. On the other hand, every reference that is 
made to the Sunday-Sabbath stamps that day as being the seventh 
d a y — the holy day, and identifies that day with the seventh day 
of the Fourth Commandment, e. g. The Sabbath mentioned in the 
Epistle of Abraham Ibn. Ezra (see p. 976-7) forever settles the ques- 
tion and says that Sunday is the Jew's Sabbath. I invite the atten- 
tion of the Jews to this. We herewith give the translation from 
the Hebrew by Joseph Jacobs a graduate of Cambridge. 
(Dec. A. D. 1 158)— Introduction to Abraham's lbn. Ezra's Sabbath 
Epistle. 

Kerem Chemed fHeb.) iv 158. 'Twas in the year 4919 [A. D. 115S] 
at midnight on Sabbath eve, the 14th of Tebeth [Dec. 7] that I, 
Abraham Ibn. Ezra, a Spaniard, was in one of the cities of the 
Island called the "corner of the earth" [Angleterre], for it is the 
last of the seven devisions of the inhabited earth. And I was sleep- 
ing, and my sleep was phasant unto me. And I looked in my 
dream, and behold, beside me stood one with the appearance of a 
man and a sealed letter in his hand. And he addressed me and 
said, "Take this letter which the Sabbath sends thee," And I 
bowed down and worshiped the Lord and ble-sed the Lord which 
had given it to us which had honored me with ihis honor. And I 
laid hold of it with my two hands, and my hands dropped with 
myrrh, And I read it, and in the beginning it was as honey for 
sweetness. But when I read the concluding lines my heart waxed 
warm within me, and my soul almost departed, so that I asked 
him that stood by me, ''What is my trespa>s? What is my ein? 
For from the day that I knew the Lord which created us, and 
learnt his commandments, I have always loved the Sabbath, and 
before she came I used to go out to meet her, and when she de- 
parted I used to speed her with gladness and with singing. Who 



How tub Jews Changed Thli: tu. 1017 



among her servants has heen so faithful as I? Wherefore then she 
has sent me this letter," and th 

I am the Sabbath, the crown of the law of the chosen ones, 

the fourth among the Ten words, 
And between the Lord and His Sons I am the perpetual sign 

of the covenant for all generations. 
In me God completed all HU ~ rks and so it is written in 

the beginning of the books (Gm. ii 2) 
And of old manna did not fall on the Sabbath day, that I 

might be a proof to the generations. 
I de.ight the living on earth, ami g ve repose to the multi- 
tude of the dwellers of graves [there is a truce in hell 

during the Sabbath.] 
I am the joy of men and women, old and young rejoice in me. 
With me the mourners mourn not, nor do they bewail the 

death of the jast. [For seven days after burial mourners set 

on the ground, &c. This is not done on the Sabbath.] 
M:.:-- ; -:v..i: -^~_ .1 zz^:i-s~z ■':-..:_: ±-i :-.-: :.zi ~zi -:::r_r-z 

ithin thy gates, 
-.z : .'. tie t . «:s :er :se :i:a: are in the service 0: i^.m. 

horses, asses, and oxen, 
And all who are wise both sanctify and conclude the feast 

with wine those who hid a ge in it as well as abstainers. 

[The beginning and end of the Sabbath is celebrated by 

t;^::::* :. :•;: :: ~:n-r.~ 
On all <:: js -7 find the gate of wisdom, On my day the hun- 

Ir-.: ^ .:es :...r ::eir:. 
I am honored by not doing thine own way, nor "clutching 

after business," nor speaking vain words. (Ish. lviii 13) 
I have preserved thee at all times, because thou hast observed 

me from the days of thy youth. 
But in thine old age an unwritten transgression has been 

found in thee, for they have bronght into thy house books, 
In which it is written to profane the Sabbath eve, and how 

canst thoo be silent and not >wear vows 
To compose letters in the way of truth and send them to all 

And the messenger of the Sabbath answered and spoke to me, 
been told what thy pupils brought yesterday to thy h«»use 
commentaries of the law, and there it is -n to profane 

u h eve; do thou grrrd up thy loins for the honor of 
to wage the battle of the law with the enemies of the Sab- 
oath, and do not treat any man with partiality." (Lev. xix 1 5) And 
I awoke and mv anger was kindled within me, and my spirit was 
very heavy, and I arose and warmed the fire in me and put on my 
garments and I washed my hands and brought toe books into the 
light of the moon [We can iell thai Dec 7 th at 1153 was a full 
moon because it was the 14th of the Hcb. lunar month] and there 
was written an explanation of 'And the evening and the 



• • < - . 



\016 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



morning," namely, tnat when the morning of the second day came 
ihen one whole day had passed, for the night is reckoned as part of 
the preceding daj, and tnen I almost rent my garments and the ex- 
planation, too. For I said it is better to profane a single Sabbath 
than allow Israel to profane many Sabbaths with fire if they saw the 
wrong intepretation. And we should be exposed to ridicule and 
acorn in the eyes of the Gentiles. But I retrain myself for the hon- 
or of the Sabbath, and I took an oath not to give sleep to mine eyes 
after the conclusion of the holy day till I had written a lengthy let- 
ter to explain when was the beginning of the day of the law to re- 
move every stumbling block, aud to clear every snare and pitfall. 
[Foot note by Ed. — If the day began at daybreak the Sabbath would 
begin then, and the Jews might light fires, &c, from Friday sunset 
to Saturday at sunrise. To obviate this sin Abraham Ibn. Ezra 
wrote this Sabbath epistle founding the orthodox Jewish custom on 
the mention of "evening" first in the first chapter of Genesis.] p. 35- 
38. 

The Jews of Angevin, England, Documents & Records, from Latin 
and Hebrew sources printed and manuscripts for the first time. Col- 
lected and translated by Joseph Jacob. Putnam & Sons, New York 
and London, 

Mr. Jacob in his foot note would have his readers believe that the 
Sabbath commenced on Friday evening. The date given, i. e. 4919 
[A. D. 1158] at midnight on Sabbath eve, the II th of Tebeth [De- 
cember 7th] is Sunday and not Saturday, and Mr. Jacob must have 
known this and left this out, while in other places he has put the 
day of the week in, e. g., p. 77, "Monday," p. 265, "Wednesday, 26 
May A. D. 1171." These dates are correct according to my perpet- 
ual calander. 

However, we have come across one instance in all our re* 
searches, and only one, that would prove if true, that Saturday was 
the Jewish Sabbath. It is the story of the Tewkesbury Jew that 
found its way into the literature of the Sabbath controversy of the 
XVthand following centuries. I must confess that when I first came 
across the story it appeared to overthrow all that I had read or 
written upon the subject. Dr. Nicholas Bownde, the father of the 
ieventh day theory, A. D. 1595, writes as follows : 

"Hereunto, also may be referred that which the most famous 
hisrographer and divine, Master Fox in his worthy book of Acts 
and Monuments of the church saith he. "Some English historians 
make mention of a Jew who, about the year 1257, fell into a privie 
*>t Tewkesbury upon the Sabbath day, and who for the great reverence 
he had for his holy Sabbath would not suffer himself to be plucked 
out; and so Lord Richard Earl of Gloucester hearing of it would 
not suffer him to be drawn out on Sunday for reverence of tLc 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1019 



holy day: and thus the wretched, superstitious Jew remaining there 
till Monday, was found dead in the dung." 

This story is repeated again and again, in different language, 
Dr. Owen, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford in his "'Treatise on the Sab- 
bath," after commenting on Luke xiii 15;xiv 5 refers thus to thig 
storyi "And it seems that they (the Jews) were wiser for their asses 
in those days than the poor wretch was for himself in latter ages, 
who falling into the jakes at Tewkesbury on that day would not suf- 
fer himself to be drawn out, if the story be truly reported in our 
Chronicles." p. 165. -This story was popularized by the commonal- 
ity when the Jews began to return under Cromwell, thus: 

Christ.— "Stretch me thine hand out, and Jew I will pull thee to 

land out. 
Jew. — Our Sabbath I keep, Sir, and can't leave the dung heap, Sir. 
Christ. — Then stay in the heap, Jew; my Sabbath thou shaft keep, 

too." 
Says Hampson: "The circumstances in which it originated is 
briefly recorded in the Chronicon de Evesham, which Leland sup- 
poses to have been contemporary." "Id the year 1260 a Jew at 
Tewkesbury fell into a priyie on the Sabbath, : nd out of re erence 
for the r'ay would not suffer himself to be drawn out. Richard 
Earl of Gloucester, out of reverence for the Sunday would not per- 
mit him to be drawn out till the next day, and he die 1."— Leland 
Collectan, t i, p. 288. The joke if it were one has been attributed 
to a Bishop of Magdebury. Barri gton rentes it from Howel's 
Londinopolis, and adds. "By this cruel joke the poor Jew was suffo- 
cated. : ' — (Obser. on Stat, de Judaismo) — Hampson'' s Medii 2Evi, 
Vol. ii p. 367. 

The Chronicle of London relates it thus: "And in this yere, that 
is to saye the yere of our Lord mcclviii, ther fel a Jewe into a pryve 
at Twkesbury upon a Satirday, the which wolde not suffre bym 
selfe to be drawe out of the pryve that day for reverence of his 
Sabot day: and St. Richard of Clare thanne erle of G-loucestre 
herynge therof wol-Je noughte suffre hym to be drawe out on the 
morwe after that is to say on Soneday, for reverence of his holy 
day: and so the Jewe deyed in the pryve." — Id. vol 2. p. 430. 

The story of the Jew, however, is no joke. It is ijiven by a con- 
temporary writer, William Rishanger, a monk of St. Albans, who 
contiuue3 the History of Matthew Paris. We herewith give the 
original: 

A D. 1260. Judeous moritur in latrina, pro superstitione. 

"Eo tempore, apud (2) Teokesbiry quidam Judaeus ceeidit in larri- 

nam; sed quia tunc erat Sabbatum. non perm i sit se extrabi, (8) ue 

honorem sui Sabbati violaret. Quod audiens Ricardus de C ara. 

Comes G-lovernue, non permisit eum extrahi sequenti die Dominica. 



102C How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



propter reverentiam sui Sabbati; quamobrem Judaeum mori con- 
tigit in foetore." p. 4. 

Foot note (2). Theokesbyri in Reg. 14, c, vii. (H)nisi Beqnenti die 
Dominica ....... in foetore. in Wats'a 

text. 

The MS. Reg. 14, c, vii is in Rishanger's own handwriting. We 
give the translation. 
Willemi Rishanger Chronica Monasterii Albani. Rolls Series, p. 4. 

A. D. 12(30. At that time in Tewkesbury a certain Jew had fallen 
into the privie, and because it was on the Sabbath he would not per- 
mit himself to be drawn out of it, that the honor of the Sabbath 
should not be violated. Which Richard de Clare Earl of Gloucester 
hearing of it wuuld not allow him to be dra^n out of it the follow- 
ing Lord's day (die Dominica) through reverence for his own Sab- 
bath (Sabbati), wherefore he did not touch or move the Jew in the 
privy. 

A. D. about 1300, or 40 years after the event, Higden writes thus 
in his Polychronicon: -'Circa illud tempus apud Teoksbury quidam 
Judaeus per diem Sabbati cecidit in latrinam, nee permisit se extrahi 
ob reverentiam sui Sabbati. Sed Ricardus de Clara comes Glover- 
niae non per mi sit eum extrahi die Dominica ob reverentiam Sabbati 
et sic mortuus est." Vol. viii, chap. xxxvi,p. 246. Roll Series. 

A. D. 1337. Trevisa translates Higden as follows: 

"Aboute that tyme at Teuke-bury a Jew fell into a gonge on a 
Satirday, and wolde not tuffre no man drawe hym up for rever- 
ence of his holy day. But Richard of Clare, erle of Gloucestre 
wolde suffre no man drawe hym up on the morwe in the Sonday 
for reverence of his holy day: and so the Jew was dede." 

English translation by John Trevisa, Id. 

A. D. 1500. "Aboute this tyme a Jewe felle into a sege at The- 
oskesbury on theire Sabbathe day, and wolde i.ot suffre to be drawn 
from the sege in that day, for the reverence of theire Sabbat, and 
Richard of Clare erle cf Glowcestre, beynge ther that tyme, and 
understondyng and knowvEgi of that Jewe, woide not suffre him 
to betaken furthe on Sonueday for reverence of his Sabbat day, and 
so the Jewe diede int he sege." 
Unknown writer of the Fourteenth century. MS Karl, 2261, Id. 

We have now traced how the mistake was made. Trevisa 
translates the word '-Sabbath" into "Satirday " and "Saquente die 
Dominica" into the "morwe in the Soneday," and this has led ns 
astray, both Jew and Christian. The Jew fell into the privy on the 
Sabbath, i. e., some time between 3 p. m. on Saturday afternoon and 
Sunday at sunset. This was the Christiauand Jewish Sabbath. The 
following Lord's day (die Dominica) commenced at sunset on Sun- 
day evening, and was a Christian festival and not binding on the 
Jews, and this ended on the dawn of Monday. Thus while the 



How the Jewjs Changed their Sabbath. 1021 

Jewish Sabbath commenced at the same time as did the Christian 
Sabbath the Christian Sabbath was made by an act of Edgar to tike 
in the Lord's day or Sunday night. There is nothing- said about 
Saturday being the Jewish Sabbath, or Sunday being the Christian 
Sabbath or Lord's day. We must remember that sixty years before 
this (A. D. 1201) Abbot of Play paid a viait to England and brought 
over his Golgotha letter and started a Sabbath and Lord's day refor- 
mation. Wjnderful miracles were wrought in reforming 'the day of 
the Lord's resurrection'' (see pp 840-7) and this day, or Sunday night 
festival was not entirely obliterated by the cur-few. William of 
Mahn.sbury (A. D. 1185) tells us "that in the year 1091 that Henry 
promulgated an edict throughout England annulling the illegal or- 
dinances of his brother and of Ranulph: he remitted taxes, released 
prisoners; and drove the flagitious from court; he restored the 
nightly use of lights within the palace which had been omitted in 
his brothers time and renewed the operations of the ancient laws 
(E iglifcsh Chronicle, Bonn's Ed. p. 428). However the curfew is still 
heard at Allesley, England, every evening at 8 o'clock. 

Rimauger in his description of the Jew and the privy has care fully 
followed his predecessors, Roger of Wendover (Chronicles) and 
Matthew Paris; i. e., by making the Sabbath of Edgar two days; i. e, 
Sabbath and Lord's day, and the days of the month; they are two 
different days; e, g., Roger of Wendover under the year 885 gives an 
account of the Emperor Charles' vision of purgatory, and state3 
that "on the Sacred Night of the Lord's Day .... a terrible voice 
addressed me." Matthew Paris under date of A , D. 1170 says of 
St. Thomas a Becket ''quid deiestamini camem propter sextain feri- 
am," and Sir Frederick gives as the following note on sextain,' quin- 
tam, MS but corrected from F and so noted by a late hand in the 
margin, Christmas day fell on Friday and the Archbishop was killed 
on the Tuesday following, see Gerv. Chron. col. 1418." 

Matth. Paris, Vol. I, p. 362. Rolls Series. 

Now quintam is right, and the Editor should have followed the 
text according to his instructions. Christmas day fell on Friday* 
but that Friday was the fifth day, Saturday the sixth day, Sunday 
the seventh day, and Sunday evening commenced the first day. The 
correction made by "a late hand" was at a time when the ferias had 
been put back and quinta became sexta. Richard I, crowned 1189* 
"Acta autem heac die dominica Hi nonas Septembras.'" This date 
falls on Sunday night or eve of Monday. King: John under date 



1022 How the Jews Changed The.ir Sabbath. 

A. D. 120L was crowned oa die P ischas, and under the same year 
we have an account of the election of the S iperior of the church of 
Canterbury: "And in the middle of the night after electing him they 
chanted the Te Deum;" and under date A. D. 1206 we have a vision 
of purgatory, the punishment of the wicked and the glory of the 
blest. The account of the vision covers fourteen pages. It is im- 
portant, as it clearly defines the Sabbath and Lord's day. One ex- 
tract must suffice: 

A. D. 1206. On the Sabbath day, near the hour of evenings 
whilst St. Dominus and St. Julian were in the aforesaid church, 
there came from the northern part a certain devil riding with head- 
long speed a black horse, and urging him through the many turn- 
ings of the place amidst much laughter; and many of the evil spirits 
went forth to meet it, dancing about and grinning at one another 
over the prey which was brought them. St. Dominus then com- 
manded the devil, who was riding, to come directly to him and tell 
him whose spirit it was that he had brought; but the devil dissem- 
bling for a long time, for the great delight which he experienced 
over the wretched spirit, the saint immediately snatched up a whip 
and severely lashed the devil, on which he followed the saint to the 
northern wall, where stood the scale of the spirits. The saint then 
asked the devil whose spirit it was that he was tormenting so by 
riding; to which the latter replied that it was one of the nobles of 
the kingdom of England, who had died on the preceding night 
without confession and without partaking of the body of the Lord; 
and, amongst the other faults which he had committed, his prin- 
cipal crime was his cruelty towards his own men, many of whom he 
had brought to extreme want, which he had chiefly done at the in- 
stigation of his wife, who incited him to deeds of cruelty. I have 
transformed him into a horse, since we are allowed to turn the spir- 
its of the condemned into whatever form we please; and I should 
be consigning him to eternal punishment, if it were not that Sun- 
day night is at hand when it is our duty to desist from our theat- 
rical sports, and inflict more severe tortures on wretched spirits . 

. . . . They who had been boiling for seven days in the burn- 
ing grease, were on the eighth day plunged into the dreadful cold 
which was in the second court, whilst those on the other hand who 
had been tortured in cold, were put into the boiling liquor; in the 
game way, those who had been boiling in the salt water were after- 
wards tortured in the stench; and they always observed these 
changes every eight days. , Vol 2, pp. 226, 232. 

Roger of Wendover's Flowers of History. 

Bonn's Ed. 

We have in the above extract the witches' Sabbath on Saturday 
night, and the Lord's day called the eighth day or Sunday night the 
time when the changes are made. We will now check" this by the 
dates given by Matthew Paris. 



How tiiis Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1023 



A. D. 12»6. "The Pope orders that no Jew should eat meat on 
VI feria, or during Lent" M. Paris, Vol. 3. p. 104. Rolls Series. 

[From the above we cannot say what day of the week this fast 
was to be observed. However, in the same year M. Parin gives us a 
date for Christmas, and refers to the Christian custom of fasting 
which the Jews were to observe.] 

1255. "In this year Christmas day fell on the sixth day of the 
week: and some persons ate meat out of reverence for Christ, because 
the Word became flesh, went forth on that day as a light to the 
world, whence some one in admiration exclaimed: 'Oh honor granted 
to the flesh.' " Matthew Paris, Vol. 3, p. 3, Bohn Ed. 

A. D. 1255. The Latin reads: "In vigilia autem Natali- Domini 
migravit a saeculo. Erat autem illo anno dies Natalis Domini Feria 
sexta." M. Paris, Vol 5, p. 484. Rolls Series. 

[The editor, Sir Frederick Madden, being misled by the Dominical 
letter in "The Book of Common Prayer," has written in the margin: 
♦'This Christmas day fell on Friday."] 

Now the 2oth of December, A. D. 1255, fell on Saturday and not 
on Friday: and this day Matthew Paris tells us is the sixth day of 
the week: therefore Sunday is the seventh day with him, and Sun- 
day night the first or eighth day; therefore Matthew Paris strictly 
follows the old style, although he uses at times the planetary names 
for the days of the week, as introduced by William I. However, in 
this case Lunae is his first day, Saturday , or Sabbath, his sixth day, and 
Lord's day the seventh day, e. g., A. D. 1197, Matthew Paris tells us 
that the Abbot of Flay forbid markets on the Lord's days (domini- 
cis diebus) Id. Vol. 2, p. 62. A. D. 1234, "Battle in Ireland fought 
prima die mensis Aprilis in Sabbatto, i. e., Saturday, Id. Vol. % p 
270, Rolls Series. It was this that milled Traversa in his transla- 
tion of the Tewkesbury Jew story, whereas he ought to have fol- 
lowed the Catholic ferias of Pope Sylvester, which identifies the 
Sabbath as the seventh day and not as the first day. We have 
already noticed that Saturday was the unlucky day, and also the fast 
day of the early Christians. Tertulian, A. D. 200, says- "They ob, 
served a voluntary fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week' 
li Cur Stationibus guartam et sextam Sabbati dicamus" De Jujw 
niis, c. 14, and observed it on the authority of tradition. The fourth 
day because the Jews took counsel to destroy Christ, the sixth da} 
because that was the day of his crucifixion." However these fasts 
were kept before Christ was crucified. The Pharisee said, "I fast 
twice in the week," etc. According to the "Teachings of the Apos- 



1024. How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

ties," these fasts were on the second and fifth days of the week. Thus 
two sects of the pharisees kept their fasts on different days of 
the week. Now in A. D. 404 Innocentius said that "Sat- 
urday shall be made a fast day because the disciples then 
mourned" [i. e., on account of the crucifixion], and in A. D, 1119 
Calixtus II enacted that "upon Saturday they should fast from flesh 
and milk," etc.; (Printed catalogue of the Ashmolean MSS.) and in 
the year 1255 Matthew Paris tells us this fast is still kept on the 
sixth day of the week; and that day, which was Saturday, exact- 
ly corresponds with Calixtus A. D. 1119, Innocent, A. D. 404; and 
we can trace this down to Archbishop Hamilton's time, A. D. 1 5o 5 
(see p. 996), and to the present custom in Italy which makes Satur- 
day the fa6t day, and not Friday. Our Friday fast day took the place 
of Saturday when the Anglo-Norman planetary names became 
popular among our annalist; and Friday became the sixth day, and 
Sunday the first day. We will now notice the transition period. 

A, D. 1240. Roberti Grosseteste Epistolae LXXXIV. Fifty 
years before the Jews were exiled: 

'To the Venerable and very dear Friends in Christ, to Robert* 
Lord of Lexington and his associates, itinerant justices of our Lord 
the King at Lincoln. Robert by the grace of God, Bishop of Lincoln. 
Salvation and true delight in the Lord." 

"It has been made known to up that you have inflicted H. deacon 
of Christianity at Lincoln with much abuse and insult, and you have 
caused the doors of his house to be closed, and his goods and certain 
lands of the daughters of his brother which he held by the power 
of guardianship, and even certain goods of his kinsmen you have 
caused to be taken in the hand of (our) Lord the King. Of these 
things this reason only existed: That he has officially intimated to 
you that cases of blood (shed) should not be investigated in your 
courts on the Lord's day, which when they were heard by us, seemed 
to us most incredible; for it is not like the truth, that the discern- 
ment of such like, and of so great persons as much by virtue of of- 
fice as by other circumstances of your people, zealous for justice, for 
anyone on account of zeal for justice, to have inflicted punishments. 
For what else than justice has he rightly announced to you, who 
has declared that cases of blood are not to bo investigated on the 
Lord's days, when the canonical decrees order the keeping holiday 
every Lord's day, and they particularly express that maiketings 
ought to be made as little as possible on the Lord's day, even if they 
are convenient to beheld, or that any one be sentenced to death or 
punishment. In the decalogue also, the observance of which is 
necessary for salvation and without the observance of which there is 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1025 



no salvation, the keeping of Sabbath is taught, because he who does 
not keep it is punished by divine law with death, instead of the ob* 
servance of the Sabbath. However, for us there is in the new law 
the observance of the Lord's day, the voluntary violation of who^e 
observance what else is it than the awarding to eternal death? 
What penalties does he deserve who has desired to restrain you lest 
you run into eternal punishments? On the contrary, indeed, why 
should he not rather be praised and rewarded by you if he has given 
you warnings of salvation, and has taken care to prevent you from a 
fall into the abyss? And besides he is responsible for your life, and 
according to scripture should be cursed if, seeing the violation of the 
Sabbath he should keep back the Sword of the Word from the blood 
of your sin, and in order that we may be clean from your blood we 
ask in the tenor of these presents, we urge, we beseech in the Lord 
that you as very dear sons, impressing it upon you from fatherly 
affection in order that the Sabbath of the Lord which is holy be not 
allowed to be broken according to the teaching of the divine law, 
and the decrees of the canon law, just as true and obedient sons of 
the inviolate mother church, the lawgiver and bride of Christ, ye 
may be content to observe and keep it holy. And if any such things 
as we have heard of have been done, you will take care to correct 
them considering that even if that which was spoken were with 
wrongs and against you even, that is was not your duty to punish 
him, since according to the divine and canon law the persons of 
clerics committing a fault are not to be judged by secular judges or 
punished, nor can the church allow the ecclesiastical liberty to go to 
ruin in such a way." 

Latin Text. Roberti Grossetesie Epistolae, p. 266, Rolls SerUs. 

[We have in the above letter the change. It is no longer Sabbath 
and Lord's day, but both days as one and the selfsame day. i. e., not 
that the Sabbath has been transferred to the Lord's day, but the vigil of 
the resurrection transferred to the Sabbath "in order that the Sab- 
bath of the Lord which is holy be not allowed to be broken accord- 
ing to the teaching of the Divine Law, and the decrees of the canon 
law, just as true and obedient sons of the inviolate mother church 
and bride of Christ ye may be content to observe and keep it holy. u 
. . . . "In the decalogue also the observance of which is neces- 
sary for salvation, and without the keeping of which there is no sal- 
vation is taught, because he who does not keep it is punished by 
divine law with death instead of the observance of the Sabbath [as 
a day of rest, however, for us there is the new law. the observance of 
the Sabbath as] the Lord's day," i. e., the day to attend church in 
obedience to canon law, Lord of Lexington in passing the sentence 
of death on the Lord's day broke the Sabbath day and divine law as 
well as canon law.] 

A. D. 1287. Three year3 prior to the expulsion of the Jews: 

u u u 



1 026 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



"Peter Quivil, Bishop of Exeter, in a synod called by him at 
Exeter, says; 'Both the Old and New Testament have assigned a 
seventh day for a day of rest, wherefore the Jews observed their 
Sabbath according to the letter, but we the Lord's day in the true 
sense and meaning of it. For whereas they understood it kept in 
the forbearance of ordinary work, we Christians on this day [Sab- 
bath or Lord's day] are to go to church, to hear holy duties, and 
learn the rule of living well; and the more the business of this world 
diverts people on other days, and will not suffer them to oe present 
at Divine service, so much the more in these days are they obliged 
to make their appearance there; that as all the week they have been 
laboring for the meat that perisheth, so they might on this day be 
refreshed with that meat which endureth to everlasting life. Where- 
fore we require all ministers to teach their parishioners and persuade 
them to resort to the church, and at such times to assist at the Di- 
vine offic. s, and be instructed in their duty. And if any, through 
the prevalence of an ill custom [as keeping the Sabbath as a rest 
day] do keep away let such be punished by their respective ordanar- 
ies. And that all colour for absence may be prevented, we 
prohibit markets on the Lord's day within our diocese on pain of 
excommunication, or the selling of any goods whatever except nec- 
essary provision, and that not during the hours of service.' " 

Baylee Hist. Sabbath, p. 151. 

[The clergy and the Bishop who attended this synod knew nothing 
about Sunday being the first day, but identifies it as the Seventh 
day. Both the Old and the New Testament made no change, for 
both enjoyed "the seventh day for a day of rest." The writer is 
very clear and explicit, and tells us the difference that existed in his 
time between the Jew and the Christian in observing the same day. 
The festival of the Lord's day had been ^et back from Sunday night 
the eve of the first day to Sunday morning, and in consequence the 
Lord's day became identified with the seventh day of both Jew and 
Christian.] 

A, D. 1291. The time when the last of the Jews left England. 
Epistolae Johanis Peckham. 

"These, underwritten, sent to the archdeacon of Canterbury for 
the observing of the Sabbath: — 'Brother John by divine leave, etc., 
to tne beloved by the Master. To the archdeacon of Canterbury, 
be health, grace and blessing, The people entrusted to our care, 
though we repeat it grieving, is so stiffnecked that it is rather deter- 
mined to kick against the pricks, and to obstinately oppose whole- 
some admonitions than to be obedient to the observing the things 
which are taught by divine providence. And because there is not 
enough life in them to transmit the examples (rules) of the Catholio 
(faith). Unless there may be some by whom the very rules are 
oommended owing to fulfilment, it is turned to worthlessness be- 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1027 



cause enjoined by the church. On the other hand indeed to the 
increase of condemnation to those violating commands of this kind; 
we have need to suppress errors of ti.is sore with armed hands as it 
were. Certainly from the beginuiug by which the supreme Ruler 
made Himself known to the human race, He handed over the Jaws 
of the Decalogue necessary for the obtaining of eternal life, for 
urging the people to His grace, and by specific recommendations 
the injunction for the keeping of the Sabbath day by having been 
separated from all slavish works, so that on it [the Sabbath] the 
people might apply with a whole mind to the rules of life as in 
mirrors of the life of the most High. For which Sabbath the fes- 
tivals of the church and particularly the Lord's day are substituted 
Of which grace we for the salvation of the people concerning whom 
we have to answer in the dreadful judgment, have commanded 
these festivals to be kept with care; and has we have obtained the 
Royal command to the sime [the Curfew of William I], so that at 
all events from fear of punishment by disobedience of so great 
atonement we might draw away the so 11 " of Belial, nor however are 
the publications of the divine commands nor the service of our of- 
fice sufficient for this. Nay, even to those growing strong in the 
greed and pride of false Coristians ears prove for harm and dull to 
what are wholesome, before others they turn the festivals of the 
church to shame: unmindful of their own safety and despisers of the 
law of the most High. We therefore not considering what we may 
do further, distinctly w^arn you that by every kind of ecclesiastical 
censure that you bring back your subjects who are rebels against the 
keeping church festivals. How greatly so ever Struggling against 
it, and wishing that in such obstinancy whom the last spark of peni- 
tence does not soften; dying they shall lack ecclesiastical burial. 
And whoever shall have presumed to celebrate the divine offices in 
the presence of such openly obstinate persons, by that very deed 
they will be suspended from office and benifice. By no means be 
slow to write to us the names of such clerics (priests) and laymen, 
and against such we Will invoke the secular arm. And whatever ye 
shall have done after that, you write back to us, before the festival 
of the Assumption wherever we may be. The publication 
however of the present letters, and the prosecution concerning 
which mention has been made in these we commend to your care 
calling against you the thunders of the divine curse if you" have been 
careless or slack in following these up. Farewell.' " p. 9S0. 

Latin Text. Epistolae Johanis Peckham, Vol. 3, Bolls Serits. 

[The above letter is important, as it is sent to the "Archdeacon of 
Canterbury for the observance of the Sabbath," and that it is "nec- 
essary that the laws of the Decalogue be observed to attain eternal 
life," that the festival of the Lord's day had been substituted for 
the rest, formerly observed on the Sabbath, and that they had ob- 
tained Royal command to make the change in the observance of the 

IT TTTT 3 



1028 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



Sabbath and this is identified with the Sabbath of the Law of God. the 
seventh day and not the Sabbath of the sixth day. for we never find 
the festival of the Lord's day celebrated on the sixth day Sabbath. J 

A. D. 1332. 133 years after the Jews were expelled: 
"Archbishop Nepuain presided over a provincial council at May 
Fair. "After complaint had been made that instead of fasting on 
the vigils, they (the people) run out to all excesses of riot,' " etc., and 
it was appointed among other things relative to Holy days " 'that 
the solemnity for Sunday should begin on the Saturday in the even- 
ing and not before to prevent the misconception of keeping a Judaical 
Sabbath.'" Collier's Ecclesiastical His f. Vol.1 p. 533. 

[How could there be any misconception if the Jews commenced 
their Sabbath as they do now on Friday evening? They commenced 
on Saturday evening and all is plain.] 

A. D. 1357 Archbishop Thorsby issued his Catechism or instruc- 
tions for the people. This consisted of ''The Articles of Belief, the 
Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Works of Mercy and the Ten Com- 
mandments." The Archbishop issued it both in Latin and En. 
glish, the former for the clergy and the latter for the laity. This 
had a very wide circulation among the people. The Latin version of 
the fourth commandment the word Sabbath is retained, and in the 
English the Archbishop has translated Sabbath into Sononday. It 
reads as follows: 

"The third is that we shall hold and halowe our holiday the Sonon- 
day." Lay Folks' Catechism. Original Series No. 118. 

Early English Text Society. 

Wyclif version: 

"Kepe thy holyday in clene lyf 

With alle thy meyne and they wyf." 2d. 

A. D. 1359 Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury issued the following to 
his clergy on the occasion of the King's going to make an expedition 
to foreign parts for the recovery of his rights. After the prayers of 
the people are asked for the safety of the King, Islip proceeds: 

"But though provided by sanctions of law and canon that all 
Lord's days be venerably observed from eve to eve.'' 

[We have here the Sunday night festival dropped. It is now 
celebrated on the Sabbath or Sunday morning, but the name Lord's 
day still clings to the festival although celebrated on the seventh 
day of the week.] 

In A. D, 1362. three years later, we have Islip's Constitution; we 
quote from number 3: 

"We learn from Holy Scripture that vice often appears under the 
color of virtue. At the first creation of man God enjoined him to 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 1029 



cease from labor on the seventh day, but the militant church in the 
times of grace had added several other days, and some of these 
again by the toleration of the church were taken away by the com- 
mon convenience of men, and the necessity of their laboring; and 
yet some local festivals were added to be observed by Catholics in 
some parts. . . . Men spend their leisure in debauchery and 
quarrels more than in devotions; not to omit that covenant servants 
(without whose labor the commonwealth could not subsist) under a 
lawful pretense, do abstain from work on holy days (through their 
own making), and on the vigils of Saints and yet take no less on 
that account for their weekly wages, by which the public good is 
clogged and obstructed. Nor do they Sabbatize in honour of God, 
but to the scandal of Him and the holy church . . . . In the 
first place, the "holy" Lord's day, beginning at Vespers on the Sab- 
bath, not before lest we should seem professed Jews." 

Johnson's Laws and C&nons, Vol. 2. p. 417-419. 

[Here we still have the '-holy" Lord's day as the seventh day, and',if 
there had ever been a change from the seventh to the first day this 
certainly ought to have been the place for the Archbishop to have 
noted it. The caution that they were not to begin "the holy Lord's 
day before Vespers on the Sabbath lest we should seem prof essed Jews" 
was necessary in view of the fact that the Sunday night service had 
been dropped and conseqently nothing to distinguish the Christians 
from the Jews, and so the Christians are instructed not to commence 
so early in the afternoon of Saturday, but commence the Sabbath at 
Vespers and this was the only difference between Jews and Chris- 
tians as to the time when the Sabbath was to commence. Hence we 
see that the "Lord's day" proper lasted in England from Edgar's time, 
A. D. 959, to Edward III, A. D. 1359, just 400 years. In Scotland 
the Lord's day continued to James III, 1496, from eve to sve (see p. 
583). In the" Holkham MS. 13th century (see p. 538), Edgar's law ie 
given with the planetary names, the Lord's day (die Dominica) com- 
mences on the Sabbath, i. e., the sixth day (Sabbati) and lasts until 
the dawn of Monday (die Lunae).] 

A. D. 1415 Archbishop Chichele of Canterbury, wishing to reform 
the barber Surgeons, says; 

"Business was conducted against the law of God, ecclesiastical 
sanctions, and the public welfare on the Lord's day, that is the sev- 
enth day (Die Dominica vide licet die septimo), which the Lord has 
blessed, which he has sanctified, and on which after working six days, 
He rested from all His work. And to all His faithful He instituted 
it by His example, to abstain from all servile works." 

Latin Text Wilkin's Council, M. B. torn 3, p. 386. 

This is quoted by Dr. Hessey (see p. 864), who comments thus; 

"In his desire to prevent barbers from exercising their calling on 
the morning of the Lord's day, actually confuses that day with the 
seventh." Hessey Sunday, p. 322. 



1030 How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 

[There is no confusion, Dr. Hessey. Archbishop Chichele knew 
what he was about. The mistake lies with Dr. Hessey. In the 
frontice page of his "History" he quotes Leon, A. D. 450, as follows;] 

"The day of our Lord's resurrection which is consecrated to the 
great Divine Mysteries as are thus by the Lord more clearly estab- 
lished, to be administered with reverence on that day; on it the 
world had its origin: on it through the resurrection of Christ and 
the annihilation of death and life received its genesis. On it the 
Apostles by preaching the Lord they sounded the gospel trumpet 
to all nations, and they received for the whole world the transmitted 
Sacrament of regeneration; on it St, John the evangelist thus testi- 
fies, the doors being shut the Lord having entered in with them 
breathes upon them and says, 'Receive ye the holy Spirit.' [John 
xx 19-23] 'Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, 
and whosoever [sins] ye retain they are retained.' In it ultimately 
the promise of the holy Spirit by the Lord to the Apostles was given, 
and thus let ue renew that heavenly command instituted and trans- 
mitted on that day by celebrating among us the Mysteries of the 
Sacred benedict on which are collected all the gifts of his grace." 
Leon Epistte, 9, Olimii. c. i. torn i. col. 630. Fol. Venet. 1753. 

Hessey Sunday, p. 1, London, 1866. 

[All this is in harmony with the time it was written, A. D. 450, but 
not noiv. The day of our Lord's resurrection was a vigil and cele- 
brated on our Sunday night, the first day, but since the year 1359 
the vijril of our Lord's resurrection has been celebrated on Sunday 
morning, the seventh day, and Archbishop Chichele knew this while 
Hessey was ignorant of this change, and that makes all the differ- 
ence.] 

We now come to the time of the reformation. Henry VIII pro- 
claims himself the head of the Church of England, and troubles begin. 
The reformation, started by Luther in Germany, is making headway 
in every direction. Discussion is the order of the day. Luther 
overthrows works and observance of days and exalts Faith as the 
means of salvation. The Ten Commandments are only to be ob. 
served as the laws of nature and to be as a mirror to show us our 
sins. Our obedience, however, will not save us, they form no part 
of the gospel. One thing is clear: Luther sweeps all days away 
under the gospel. He says; "The Mosaic law was imposed on the 
Jews alone, and even on them ceased to be obligatory at the coming 
of Christ. . . . The Ten Commandments do not apply to us 
Gentiles, but only to the Jews," &c, &c. "The Gospel regardeth 
neither Sabbath or holidays, because they endured for a time. . 

• The words of Scripture prove clearly to us that the Ten Comi 
rmndments do not effect us ... . for God has not brought us 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1031 



out of Egypt, but only the Jews. ... We are willing- to take 
Moses as our teacher, but not as our lawgiver, except when he 
agrees with the New Testament and with the law of nature. .. . 
. Nature herself teaches the lesson that the working classes, ser- 
vants and maids are to be considered; they have spent the whole 
week in laborious employment, and require a day on which they may 
take breath from their work and refresh themselves and restore 
their exhausted frames by repose. . . . No day is better or 
more excellent than another. . . . Some one day, therefore, at 
least, must be selected in each week, . . . And seeing that those 
who preceded us chose the Lord's day (Sonntag — die Dominica) for 
them, this harmless and admitted custom must not be readily 
changed." However, Luther appears in the following extract to 
identify the Saturday with the Jewish Sabbath: "But he who 
wants to keep the Sabbath as a necessary commandment and insti- 
tution enjoined by God must keep the Saturday (in the German orig- 
inal Sonnabend) and not the Sunday." 

Luther's Works, Vol. 3, p. 643. 

The "Sonnabend," however, refers to the eve of Sunday, Samtag, a 
corruption of the word Sabb ith is the German name for Saturday 
and originated when the vigils were removed back to "the morning 
of the same day." Luther simply bears testimony to the fact that 
the Jews kept their Sabbath feast on the Sunnabend, whereas 
the Christians did not, but kept the feast of the resurrection on 
Sunday morning, instead of keeping this day as a rest day, which the 
fourth commandment eDJoins. We know that the Catholic mis- 
sionaries when they came across Christian bodies keeping the eve of 
Sunday on Saturday evening, tell that they keep Sabbath and 
Lord's day, e. g. T ie narrative of the Portuguese Embassy to 
Abyssinia during the years 1520-1527 by Father Francisco Alverez, 
translated from the Portuguese and edited with notes by Lord 
Stanley, printed for the Hakluyt Society 1881 , says: 

"When the lesson is finished, on Saturdays and Sundays and feast 
days [Sabados, domingos e festas — Sabbaths, dominical days and 
festivals'], they make a procession with four or five crosses. . . . 
This being ended on the Saturdays and Sundays [Sabados, domingos 
—Sabbaths, dominical day-], ... On Saturdays and Sundays 
[Sabbaths, dominical days] in all churches and monasteries blessed 
bread is distributed. . . . The office of the mass, exclusive of 
the processions, is short — pp, 22-27. In all the churches of Prester 



1032 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



John's country only one mass is said each Sunday They 

were surprised at our coming into the church with our shoes on, 
and still more at our spirting in it. . . . The fast of Lent, which 
they begin on Monday [Segunda feria]. King Prester John, who 
commanded that Saturday [ho Sobado — the Sabbath] should be ob- 
served in his kiEgdomsand lordships; and this Abba Philip went to 
that king Prester with his friars, and undertook to show how God 
commanded that Saturday [ho Sabado — the Sabbath] should be 
kept, and that whosoever did not keep it should die by stoning, and 
that he would maintain this before all the fathers of Ethiopia; and 
he made it good before the king. Therefore, they say, that he was 
a saint for making Saturday [ho Sabado — the Sabbath] to be kept, 
and they treat him as a saint, . . . On this account, the people 
are the most Judaizing of all the kingdoms of Prester John. — pp. 
84, 35." 

However, we know from travelers (see p. 765) that this Sabbath 
was Saturday afternoon and evening until 1 2 o'clock midnight, when 
the Lord's day commenced; hence this Catholic missionary has cut 
the 24-hour Sabbath into two parts, the first part he calls Sabbath 
and the second part; Lord's day; and Monday he calls second feria 
thus proving that the latter part of the Sabbtah, i. e., the Lord's 
day, was the first feria, i, e., from midnight to midnight. 

Now, if the Portuguese Jews kept the eve of the Sabbath on Fri- 
day afternoon as they now do it would be nonsense for Father Al- 
verez to charge the Abyssinians with "Judaizing." If, however, the 
only difference between the Jews and Roman Catholics at that time 
was that the Jews commenced the Sabbath on Saturday afternoon 
aud the Christians (who had dropped the vigil of the Sabbath for 
centuries) commenced the Lord's day at midnight, then we can un- 
derstand the taunt of Judaizing. 

However, there can be no question about this, for I find that as 
Father Alverez and Ambassador Don Codriogo were traveling from 
Bisan they arrived at a town called Caina. "We kept the Saturday 
aud Sunday [tenemo3 by Sabado e domingo — we kept Sabbath and 
dominical] in a small village which might contain twenty people. — 
p. 36. They always perform baptism on Saturdays and Sundays 
[sempre em Sabado on em dominico — always on a Sabbath or on a 
dominical]. . . . After we had seen all [the monastery, the 
house, the vegetable gardens with cabbages, garlic and onions, &c 
&c] the Friars were at their wits' end, because it was Saturday 
[Sabado — Sabbath], and they could not gafcher anything to give us, 
asking us to pardon them, and that they would give us of what thev 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1033 



had in the house — p. 94." 

Quoted from Sabbath Memorial, pp. 484-496. 

Here, then we have the Saturday-Sabbath, the early part of the 
day, a market or work day, and the afternoon a Holy day, thus 
proving that the Abyssiuians had their Saturday half holiday as we 
had it in England in A. D. 1520. 

In a conversation with Father Sullivan (a Jesuit Priest of St. Ig- 
natue College, San Francisco, in A. D. 1902) he assured me that in the 
Catholic church the Sabbath commenced at 3 p. m. on Saturday. I 
said, "Then it closes on Sunday afternoon/' He said, "Xo, it ended 
at midnight Saturday, when the Lord's day commenced." I then 
reminded him of the fact that the Jews commenced their Sabbath 
on Friday afternoon and not Saturday. He could give no explana- 
tion but that the Catholic church had always kept it thus, and if my 
memory is correct he informed me that the Lateran church of St. 
John's still kept up the old customs of celebrating the vigils and had 
made no change whatever. If this is true, this has kept alive the 
fact of which Father Sullivan had informed me. i. e., that the Sab- 
bath commenced on Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock. 

It was this account of the Abyssinians that lead Dean Stanley 
astray when addressing a meeting in favor of opening museums on 
Sunday in A. D. 1877. He says: 

••Without going into the origin of Christian Sunday, he might ob- 
serve that the Seventh day, which is Saturday, was not really observed 
by any Christian country in the woild; with the two exceptions of 
the Seventh-day Baptist and the Abyssinian church in Africa." 

Sabbath Memorial, p. 55. 

We now come to Calvin, who endorses Luther's view: 
Section 33. "I am obliged to be rather more diffuse on this 
point, because iu the present age some unquiet spirits have been 
raising noisy contentions respecting the Lord's day. They complain 
that Christians are tinctured with Judaism because they retain any 
observance of days. But I reply, the Lord's day is not observed by 
us upon the principles of Judaism, because in this respect the dif- 
ference between us and the Jews is very great. For we celebrate it 
[the Lord's day] not with the scrupulous rigor, as a ceremony which 
we conceive to be a figure of some spiritual mystery, but only use it 
as a remedy to the preservation of order in the church." 

Sec. 34. However, the ancients have not, without sufficient rea- 
son, substituted what we call the Lord's day in the room of the 
Sabbath." 



1034 How the Jews Changed Thkir Sabbath, 



Calvin is very clear. He understands exactly the situation. 'The 
difference between them and the Jewish observance of the Lord's 
day is very great." Here he indentifies the Lord's day with the Jewish 
Sabbath. He does not contrast the two ob ervances of Saturday 
and Sunday, but the Jews and Christians observing the one day, i. e., 
the Lord's day. In his sermon 34 on Deuteronomy he says: 

"It is true that we be not bound to the seventh day. neither do 
we indeed keep the same day that was appointed to the Jew*, for 
that was Saturday. But to the intent to show the liberty of Chris- 
tians the day was changed, because Jesus Christ in his resurrection 
did set us free from the bondage of the law, and canceled the obli- 
gation thereof, that was the cause why the day was shifted." 

Institutes of the Christian Beligion, Vol. 1 B 2 C. 8. 
Cox's Sabbath Lit., Vol. l.p. 408. 

Calvin makes a distinction here between the Sabbath given to the 
Jews and identfied it with the Saturday. However, since he has 
told us that the Jews observed the Lord's day with "scrupulous 
rigor." we must understand him that the Jews commenced their 
Sabbath on Saturday at 3 p. m., while the Christians kept the Lord's 
day from Saturday midnight. 

Dr. Lewis (Sabbath and Sunday, p. 262-3,) has given us Calvin's 
views on those specific portions which are claimed in support of the 
"Puritan" theory of a "change of day" and of Sunday as a sacred 
day on New Testament authority. "In commenting on the time of 
Christ's resurrection and the harmony of the evangelists on that 
point he says nothing of the 'change of the day,' or the commem- 
orating of the day because of the resurrection. In his comments 
on John xx he makes no claim that 'after eight days' was the next 
Sunday. On Acts li 1 in treating of Pentecost he makes no claim 
that it fell on the first day of the week. On Acts xx 7 the meeting 
at Troas [after quoting an extract from Calvin's commentaries Lew- 
is continues]: On Cor. xvi 2, Calvin is still more plainly committed 
against the idea that Sunday had any recognition in the New Testa- 
ment." 

We admit all this for the obvious reason that Calvin did not view 
Sunday as the first day, but the seventh day, and therefore says 
nothing about the change. 

The accounts that have come down to us of Sabbath-keeping 
Christians previous to the reformation we are to understand that 
they were called Sabbatarian and Jewish because they observed 
the eve of the Sabbath on Saturday afternoon, e. g., Mr. Robert 
Cox in his Sabbath Literature seeks to prove that the Bohemians 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1035 

were Sabbatarians, and quotes Erasmus, which ia as follows: 

"Now we learn among the Bohemians there arose a new Beet 
(they) call Jewish Sabbatarians who keep the Sabbath with such su- 
perstition that if anything on that day should fall into their eyes, 
they are not willing to remove it, as if the dies dominions, which to 
the apostles was even holy, was not sufficient to them for the Sab- 
bath, or as if Christ had not declared how much sanctity may be 
given to the Sabbath." 

Latin Text. De Amabili Eccle. Concor., Op. torn. V. p. 506, 
Lugd. Bat. 1707, Cox's Sabbath Literature, Vol. 2, pp. 201, 202. 

The dies dominicus is used here for the Sabbath, "'but Christ hav- 
ing shown us how much sanctity was due to the Sabbath," they 
could without breaking it remove what had fallen into their eyes 
but because they did not remove it they were called Jewish Sab- 
batarians. Nothing here to connect them with the Seventh-day 
Eaptists. The same may be said of the other sects of Jewish Sab- 
batarians prior to the reformation. The Rev. W. M. Jones quotes 
from the Dutch Martyrology the case of two who were executed on 
the 16th of September 1529: The confession of one was: "God has 
commanded us to rest on the seventh day." And the confession of 
the other was: *'In six days the Lord made the world, and on the 
Sevf nth day he rested. The other holy days have been instituted by 
Popes, Cardinals and Archbishops, of these she did not approve." 
Dutch Martyrology, Vol. 1. pp. 113, 114, Sabbath Memorial p. 6. 

The martyrs objected to the festival of the resurrection being cel- 
ebrated on the morning of the Seventh clay. God had instituted i 
to be a rest day. It was this question that separated the Yaodoif» 3 
Cathari, Albigeneses. Passigii, and Waldenses from the Catholic 
church: hence they have been designated by Roman Catholic au- 
thors Sabbatarians. 

We now turn to the English reformation. The first act of Henry 
VIII at reform was the convocation which overthrew entirely the 
stand taken by Luther, Calvin and the Continental Reformers, viz., 

A. P. 1536. "That sith the Sabbath day was ordained for man's 
use and therefore ought to give way to the necessity and behoof of 
the same, much rather than any other holiday established by man.'" 

Wilkins" Concil. Hi 827. 

And in the following year a convocation appointed a committee 
A. D. 1537, to write a work which was called "The Godly and Pious 
Institutions of a Coristian Man." This contained the Lord's Prayer, 
Ave Maria, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments. This was re- 
issued in A. D. 1540. and aeain in A. D. 1543 with alterations and 



103o How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

corrections 'and the Prymer in A. D, 1545. All these had the Ten Com- 
mandments. Here we have the end of the reign of Henry VIII, and as 
far as ancient usages, there was no change made in the fourth oom- 

mandment nor apology for keeping it as the first day. However, in 
A. D. 1547, the first year of Edward VI, the convocation appointed 
a committee to compose a liturgy; Arch. Cramner and the clergy 
drew one up and in A. D. 1548 the First Prayer Book was issued. 
The reformation and the ideas of Luther had gained such a footing 
that it was sufficient for a time to suppress all sacredness for Sun- 
day as God's holy day, the Seventh day, and as a consequence the Ten 
Commandments did not appear in the First Prayer Book of Ed- 
ward VI, the reader is referred to the Act of A. D. 1552 on pp. 554- 
6. It will be noticed that Sunday is not set aside because it is not 
the Seventh day but the first, but 

"Because all days are alike and left by the authority of Scripture 
to the liberty of the Christian chureh to be determined and assigned 
orderly in every country by the discretion of the rulers and min- 
isters thereof." 

However, there was by far too much reform in this. It was too 
novel and new, aud to quiet the public mind, in A. D, 1552, the sec- 
ond Prayer Book was issued with the Decalogue, for this had been 
made popular ' by the publication of them into the English tongue for 
the people by Arch. Thorsby in A. D. 1357" and had appeared from 
time to time in the works published by Henry VIII, Therefore, we 
can quite understand why the second book of Edward VI was issued 
containing the Decalogne. There must have been some dissension 
about the Fourth Commandment. Traversa's mistake had been 
widely copied, and the Tewkesbury Jew story threw a doubt on 
Sunday being the Sabbath, the seventh day, which God blessed, and 
so the advocates of the English reformation made an alteration in 
the Fourth Commandment to guard the people from falling into 
the same error. The compilers therefore dropped the word "Sal- 
bath" and supplied the words ' 'seventh day," and it reads thus: 
"And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it." Our responses 
were suggested by the Salisbury Missal, which reads: "Lord, in- 
cline our hearts to keep this law." The law, or a part of it, was 
read as a lesson during Lent, but there is no mention of the Fourth 
Commandment, or Sabbatb. It reads thus: "God spake these words, 
Honor thy father and thy mother," &c, &c. Why the first four 
laws were omitted is obvious. It w r as a protest against the act of 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 1037 



William I in using the day that God rested upon as the day of wor- 
ship, or assembly day. We cannat nni them as a par: of the first 
or eighth day service when the mass of the resurrection was- 
brated on Sunday night, If the Commandments were ever said in 
the church it must have been on the Sabbath night when they 
"took lights to the church." In King Alfred's version we read; 
• 'Hemem' es." And in the Saxon versions of the 

Ce-rcl. 5a"::':ath is trail-. r. .: --. : aayes." An i then "^'e i-v- the 

il-assemoiy Jay." Doubtless it was at 
Ten Commandments were transferred from Saturday night to Sun- 
day morning, as the Curfew oi William I put an end for a time to 
the Sabt tfa vigil of Saturday night ana having been transferred 
J morning it became necessary to 1:11:1 ah :-: 7 _ . :_- 

Fourth Commandment. Tne Salisbury Missal continued to be said 
until the Prayer B : :h : : • - > its r 1: : e 

When the Apostolic constitutions were penned the twc fet:ts 
were distinct. The Creation was cell rate: :n the night of the 
Sabbath, and the feast of the Resurrection on Sunday night; 
hence slaves were to rest t~: Is : :er the vigLl 

of the Sabbath on Sunday, and after the vigil of the Lord's day on 
M _ "a" 

A. D. 600. The canonical answers of Timothy, the Bishop of 
Alexandria: 

Question xiii. When are man an : .a. aits? 

Answer. On Sabbath ana Lara's day. for oia these days ~i. e. nights] 

iual sacrifices are err ei . Tertnllian. A D. 201*. who 

:h md Lor i'a day in exhorting 

not to marry pag a he reason that "they would not permit 

them to attend the nightly con nations. A a I . ; 

We now proceed to n: rice the change that has taken place in re- 
ligions thought since the publication of th 1 Book of Com- 
mon prayer. Ed w ar a Tyndale, born A. D. 1503, died at the stake 
takes Luther- view. We be lords over the Sabbath and may 
ge it to Monday or any other day as we see need. . , . 
_ er was there any cause t: mange it from Saturday than to 
put a difference between us and the J e w ? . lest we s h a u 1 :": m - 
servants of the day after theii titions," 

However in John Fryth (born 1503; died at the stake 153; 
friend of Tyndale) we have what appears to be the change, for 
supporting the view of no day sacred he says: 

"Howbeit. because it was necessary that a day should be res^. 



1038 How the Jews Changed their Sabbath, 



in which the people shonld come together to hear the word of God, 
thej ordained instead of the Sabbath, which was Saturday, the next 
day following, which is Sunday. And although they might have kept 
the Saturday with the Jews, as a thing indifferent, yet they did much 
better to overset the day to be a perpetual memory that we are free 
and not bound to any day, but may do all lawful works to the pleasure 
of God and the profit- of our neighbor. We are in a manner as su- 
perstitious in the Sunday as they were in the Saturday. Yea and 
much madder. For the Jews have the Word of God for their Sat- 
urday, sith it is the seventh day and they are commanded to keep 
the seventh day solemn, and we have not the Word God for us but 
rather against us, for we keep not the seventh day as the Jews do, 
but the first, which is not commanded by God's law." 

Works of the English Reformers, Wm. Tyndale and Jno. Fryth, 

Vol. 2, p. 101. London. 1831. 

This statement would not have been possible in any country where 
the Jews were dwelling at that time, for what Fryth had in his 
mind when penning this, was an incorrect report of the Tewkes- 
bury Jew story, and not verifying it was misled by it to make the 
mistake. This is clear, he says, "We are are as superstitious? in the 
Sunday as the Jews were in the Saturday," a remark that was 
prompted by the fact that "the Jew would not break his Sabbath or 
Saturday, nor the earl his Sunday, and so the Jew died." Here, then, 
we have the first place where the Sunday is identified as the first 
day. And this bears fruit and spreads and spreads. No one can 
refute it, as no authority is given. The Jews were exiles in A. D. 
1290 and returned under Cromwell and therefore the Euglish re- 
formers were at sea. Some maintained that Sunday was the first 
day while others maintained that Sunday was the Sabbath the sev- 
enth day, e. g. In A. D. 1564 we have a convocation of clergy stat- 
ing their views thus; 

A. D. 1584. "Let all Christians remember that the seventh day 
was consecrated by God, and hath been received and observed, not 
only by the Jews, but by all others who pretend to worship God, 
though we Christians have changed their Sabbath into the Lord's 
day.''' (see p. 862) 

Can language be more emphatic, i. e., the Jewish Sabbath named 
by Christians the Lord's day and consequently the seventh day? 
However, in A. D. 1562 in Elizabeth's reign, twenty-two years pre- 
vious to tbis convocation, the "Book of Homilies" ''Of the Place and 
Time of Prayer," is the first place in the church services where Sun- 
day is called the first day of the week. -For we now keep the first 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1039 

day, which i6 our Sunday, and make that our Sabbath." And in the 
year. A. D, 1615 James I his Majesty's commissioners in Ireland for 
regulating the church there made an article stating; 

"That the first day of the week w r hich is the Lord's day." 
Charles I, A. D. 1647, in a query propounded by him to the Par- 
liament's Commissioners at Holmby says: 

"I conceive the celebration of the feast of Easter was instituted 
by the same authority which changed the Sabbath into the Lord's 
day, or Sunday, for it is not to be found in Scripture where Satur- 
day is to be kept or turned into Sunday, wherefore it must be the 
church's authority which, changed the one and instituted the other. 
Therefore my opinion is that those who will not keep the feast may 
as well return to the observance of Saturday and refuse the weekly 
Sunday." Sabbath Memorial, p. 10. 

From this it appears that Charles I was converted to the idea 
of Sunday being the first day. Thus while the Ten Commandments 
were read in our churches and the response, "Lord, incline our 
hearts to keep this law," was said: this Homily which the preacher 
recited flatly contradicted the Fourth Commandment, and tells us 
that the Sunday-Sabbath is the "first day." Which is right? 

A. D. 1256 the Pope tells the Jews they were to fast on the 6tb 
feria. M. Paris tells us this fast was on Saturday*; and this is still 
kept up. 

A. D. 1610 James I, "John Tarrant, an inn keeper, the 9th day of 
Dec. being a Saturday, did dress in the house one piece of boyled 
beefe and one ribb of roast beefe to sale, the same being a ffishe 
day, and a day prohibited to eat flesh by statue of 5 Ei zaneth." 

Historical Manuscript Commission, Reports i, 2, 3, p. 350. 

This settles the question in favor of our Prayer Book and the Ten 
Commandments as a«_au>t the Homily of A. D. 1562, Charles I 
the Puritan party, the Seventh-day Baptist*, and those who take 
their view. 

Dr. Bownde, however, had in A. D. 1595 (reign of Elizabeth) wrote 
his famous book and advocated a seventh day theory. He is the 
first who gives us the story of the Tewkesbury Jew on the authority 
of Fox, the Marty rologist. We have already given this on p. 1018 
and Fox quotes from Traversa's translation, which is not true. So 
Dr. Bownde's theory falls to the ground. However, it became the 
text-book of the Puritan party and was endorsed by them, and they 
inserted a seventh day theory when in power. They put it into 



1040 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

their Westminster Confession of 1647. and it became the law of 
England daring the Puritan supremac ; and this was the first creed 
that embodied this view. 

The act of A. D. 1644 is entitled a Directory for the Public Wor- 
ship of God. throughout the three Kingdoms of England. Scotland 
and Ireland. This ordinance repealed the acts of E iward VI and 
Elizabeth, which established the ritual of the Prayer Book n the 
churches, and appointed the Directory in its stead. As there was 
some difficulty in the matter among- the clergy. Parliament in the 
ensuing- summer called in all the Books of Common Prayer, and 
imposed a fine upon such ministers as should read any other form 
than that imposed by the Directory. The penalty for reading the 
service of the Prayer Book was £b for the first offense, £10 for the 
second offense, and a year's imprisonment for the third offense; and 
for the non-observance of the Directory 40 shillings. Any one who 
should preach, write or print anything in derogation of the Direct- 
ory, was to forfeit not less than £5, nor more than £50 to the poor. 
This Directory is given in full in Neal's History of the Puritans, 

Appendix V it. 

However, the Book of Common Prayer with the Ten Command- 
ments was restored at the advent of Charles II. and has been n use 
ever since: therefore, in England, Sunday is still the seventh day, 
but the first day in Scotland. In 1585 a scaffolding gave way on 
Sunday at the Paris gardens where the public resorted to on Sun- 
day afternoons to witness bull- baiting, bear-baiting, and other 
sports. This was put down as a judgment from God for desecrat- 
ing the Sabbath. Neai says ; 

'•Rev. John Smith. M. A., in his sermon before the University of 
Cambridge the first Sunday in Lent, maintained the unlawfulness of 
these plays, for which he was summoned before the Vice-Chancellor 
and upon examination offered to prove that the Christian Sabbath 
ought to be oostrved by abstinence from all worldly business and 
spent in works of piety and charity, though he d.d not apprehend 
we were bound to the strictness of the Jewish precept?. The Par- 
liament had taken tnis matter into consideration and a bill for the 
better and more reverent observance of tne Sabbath, which the 
speaker recomended to the Queen in an elegant speech. But her 
Majesty refused to pass it undei pretense of not allowing Parlia- 
ment to meddle witn matters of religion, which was her preroga- 
tive. However, the theory appeared to be so reasonable thai with- 
out the sanction of the law, the religions ob-ervance of the Sabbath 
grew in esteem with all sober persons, and after a few years became 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 1041 

the distinguishing mark of the Puritans." 

NeaVs History of the Puritans, Vol. I, p. 176. 

Rev. John Smith simply expressed the view of the convocation 
which had been held the year before, A. D. 1584: (see p. 1038)'. How- 
ever Dr. Bownde's book was making converts to his theory, and the 
declaration of the Book of Sports by James I, A. D. 1618, was de- 
signed to discourage and stop its progress. 

The First (famous or infamous) Book of Sports, 
May 24th. 16 Jac. I., A D. Ittl8. '"By the King. 

WHereas upon Our returne the last yeere out of Scotland, We did 
publish Our pleasure touching the recreatians of our people in those 
parts vnder Our hand: For some causes Us thereunto mooning, 
We have thought good to command these our directions then given 
in Lancashire with a few words thereunto added, and most applica- 
cable to these parts of Our Realmes, to be published to all Our Sub- 
jects. 

Whereas We did instly in Our Progress through Lancashire re- 
buke some Puritanes & precipe people, and tooke order that the like 
vnlawful cariage should not be vsed by any of them hereafter, in 
the prohibiting and vnlawful punishing of Our good people for vsing 
their lawfull Recreations, and honest exercises vpon Sundayes and 
other Holy dayes. after the af temoone Sermon or Seruice." 

This Book of Sports is put into Modern English onp. 566. 

However, the Book of Sports was challenged by his Parliament. 

'1. D. 1623-4. An Act for punishing abuses committed on the 
Lord's day, called Sunday. The act passed through all the stages, 
but did not receive the Royal assent." 

Historical Manuscript Commission, Appendix Report 3, p. 28. 

A. D. 1618. J. Task, was the first who h-ld the belief that the 
Saturday-Sabbath was obligatory on all Christians, but recanted, 
A. D. 1623 Theophilus Brabourne advocated the observance of the 
Saturday-Sabbath and also recanted, but two years later, A. D. 1630» 
we have another book from his pen; and another in A. D. 1632, both 
works advocating the Saturday-Sabbath. Bishop Francis White 
was instructed by the King to answer him, which he did in A. D. 
1635. However, while the Bishop was preparing his reply the King. 
re-issued, A. D. 1633, his father's declaration, the Book of Sports 
The circumstances which led the King to do this, eajs Baylee, were 
these: 

''The gentry of Somersetshire solicited Sir John Richardson, Lord 
Chief Justice of England, and Baron Denham. to publisn an Order 
in the county for the suppression of church- ales, bid-ales, and clerk- 

V V v 



1042 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

ales, which were the cause of great immorality, disorder, arid crime. 
Church-ales were gatherings in public-houses on the Lord's-day, on 
the termination of morning prayers; clerk-ales were merry-makings 
on the Lord's-day, when collections were made for the support of 
the clerk of the church; and bid-ales were feasts, at which collec- 
tions were made for persons ruined in circumstances, in order to en- 
able them to resume their trade or business. The Lord Chief Jus- 
tice issued the Order accordingly, relying on precedent, Laud, 
Archbishop of Canterbury, by the wish of the King, commanded 
him to revoke the Order, which, after some demur, he did, "as far 
as in him lay." The Magistrates of Somerset, being displeased on 
account of the revocation of so salutary an Order, presented a peti- 
tion to the King, through the Lord Lieutenant of the county pray- 
ing him to renew it, but their request was not granted: on the con- 
trary the King soon after renewed his father's Declaration, or 'Book 
of Sports.' " Bailee's History of the Sabbath, p. 170. 

And its re-issue, A. D. 1633, by Charles I, see p. 566, was yiewed 
in the light of a challenge to Almighty God himself. The people 
had been accustomed to hear the Catechism from Archbishop Peck- 
ham's time and to read it in their own mother tongue from the days 
of Archbishop Thorsby, and the people had been instructed from the 
days of Edw. VI and Elizabeth to respond after the Fourth Com- 
mandment, "Lord, incline our hearts to keep this law," and Charles 
I, their King, had given the people permission to desecrate the Sab- 
bath on Sunday afternoons, i. e., "lawful sports to be used on Sun- 
days after divine service." 

Dr. Heylin, Chaplain to King Charles I, was instructed to write a 
book to defend the King's action, He did so. History of the Sab- 
bath in two Books, by Peter Heylin, A. D. 1636. He quotes from a 
false translation of the Tewkesbury Jew story, overthrows the Sab- 
batic observance of the seventh day by assuming that Sunday was 
the first day, and settles the question to his own satisfaction and 
that of the King, but not to the satisfaction of Task and his follow- 
ers (who, like Heylin, Dr. Bownde, and the Homily of A. D.. 1562, 
had been misled by the Tewkesbury Jew story) had established 
themselves as believers in the laws of God, and had accepted 
the belief that Saturday was the seventh day. 

Thus we have four parties; 

(I.) Those who believe in the Fourth Commandment and that the 
Sunday-Sabbath is still binding, viz; 

Secundo die Junij Anno Dai. 1620, Annoq Jacobi, Regis AnglL 
&c, xviij. 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1043 



Ate a Comon Councell assembled, there being present John 
Slaughter and Edward Toney, Bayliffes, Edward Alye, Esq., George 
Morrey, Thomas Hilley, John Vicarige, William Parsons, William 
Hitches, Ric. Bradfford, John Underhill, William Hill. Thomas 
Vaughan, Jno. Packer, Phillip Surman, Willm. Whitledge, Edwd. 
Millichep ; Kenelme Merson, G-eorge Shawe, and Christopher Canner, 
Gent. 

"It ia decreed, that George Shawe, Edward Hill, and Roger Plevy 
shall stande removed out of their severall places of principall bur- 
gesses, or assistantes, within this towne, unles by the first day of 
July next, they will acknowledge the 4th Commandment or Lord's 
daye to bee God's holy ordinance; And that it is not in man's pow- 
er to alter the number one day in seven [Dr. Bownde's theory] for 
a Sabbath to any other pportion of time. 

"This Acte was divers times publickly reade, and it was required 
that if any assented not to it, he should speake, but all were silent, 
and a generall approbation of it wch accordingly was pfourmed by 
John Kay and Thomas Innes, Serjeants at mace: 

"Me.: Sunday night, Mr. Bayley Toney, having assembled at his 
house a dozen of the company, the 2 day of Julye, did send for the 
said George Shawe, to know his answere, who said he was bueie, and 
in conclusion did utterly refuse to come, though he was often sent 
for; yet came uppon Monday morning, but did then absolutely re- 
fuse to answer to the sd questions concerning the Sabbath. Where- 
uppon, the Right honoble his Maties Councell, in the Mrches of 
Wales (being acquainted with their dangerous opinion), sent a pur- 
suivant for them, and there bound them over before the hye com- 
mission: and did well like of or said acte and much commend us for 
the same: and did ratifie it by subscribing their names for conforma- 
tion of it, viz., the Lord President, Sr Thomas Chamberlayne, Sr 
Henry Tounsen, and Mr. Over bury. 

"Me.; The viijth day of November, 1620, the ed Edward Hill and 
Roger Plevy, being agayne demanded their opinion concerning the 
Sabbath, did then acknowledge the Xtian Sabbath or Lord's day now 
observed, to be a divine ordinance, begun and sett up by such who 
weere inspired by the holy ghost. And that they beleved, that it is 
not in the power of any church to alter it to any pportion of time. 
That acknowledgemt was made at Mr. Lyes howse in peence of both 
bayliffes, Mr. Lye and Mr. Morrey, Mr. Vicaridge, Mr. Hitch, Mr. 
Psons, Mr. Bradford, Mr. Underhill, Mr. Gelfe, M. Surman, Mr. 
Canner, and Mr. Hale. 

"The same day, afterwards, George Shawe, in open chamber, ac- 
knowledged as much, whereuppon they were restored to their places 
aforesaid." 

"Tewxbie, 
* Actes and Ordinanoes, from tyme to tyme made and agreed up- 
pon by the Bayliffes and Common Cosnsaill of the Baid Borough of 

v v v 8 



1044 How the Jews Changed Thkir Sabbath. 

Tewxburie, for the better government of the Raid towne, and of all 
artificers apprtices, and servants, wth all other Inhitantes of the 
same." 

Transcribed by Rev. T. Wilkinson from the Tewkesbury Town 
Record. Sabbath Memorial, p. 288. 

(2.) Dr. Bownde, advocating the observance of the Sunday-Sab- 
bath as a seventh day, and still binding upon the human race. 

Dr. Bownde's book was called in and forbidden by Archbishop 
Whitgrift and Sir John Popham, Lord Chief Justice of Eugland. 
After Archbishop Whitgrift died, A. D. 1600, it was re-isued in A. 
D. 1606. Its suppression caused it to be anxiously sought for and 
read. Dr. Bownde says: 

"But now concerning this very special seventh day which we now 
keep in the time of the gospel, that is well known, that it is not the 
same it was from the beginning, which God himself did sanctify, and 
whereof he speaketh in this commandment, for it was the day going 
before ours, which in Latin retaineth its ancient name, and is called 
the Sabbath, which we also grant, but so that we confess it must al- 
ways remain, never to be changed any more, and that all men must 
keep holy this seventh day, which was unto them not the seventh, 
but the hrst day of the week, as it is so called many times in the 
New Testament, and so it still standeth in force, that we are bound 
unto the seventh day, though not unto that very seventh. Concern- 
ing the time, and persons by whom, and when the day was changed, 
it appeareth in the New Testament, that it was done in the time of 
the apostles, and by the apostles themselves, and that together with 
the day, the name was changed, and was in the beginning called the 
first day of the week, afterwards the Lord's- day. 
The Doctrine of the Sabbath, Plainly Laid For th & Soundly Pvoven. 

(3.) Bishop White and Dr. Heylin, advocating the observance of 
Sunday as the first day, and abrogating the Sabbatic observance of 
both the Saturday and the Sunday- Sabbath as the seventh day of 
the Fourth Commandment. 

(4.) Task, advocating the observance of what he thought to be 
the seventh day, viz., Saturday, and abrogating the observance of 
the Sunday- Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment. 

TaBk was brought before the Star Chamber in A. D. 1618. The 
specifications are: "Christians are bound to abstain from those meats 
which the Jews were forbidden in Leviticus, and that they were 
b und to observe the Jewish Sabbath." Bishop Andrews soon con- 
verte " him t) the 1 elief of himself and the church of England* and 
in 1 r.O Task published "A Treatise of the Liberty from Judaism, or 
an Acknowledgement of True Christian Liberty." This was fol- 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1045 

lowed by Theophilus Brabourne, of Northfolk, a clergyman of the 
church of England. 

'A Discourse upon the Sabbath Day. The Lord's Day is not the 
Sabbath Day. The Time when the Sabbath Day should Beg-in and 
End for the Satisfaction of Those Who are in Doubt on this Point. 
That the Seventh-Day Sabbath is not Abolished. That the Seventh- 
Day Sabbath is Now still in Force. A. D. 1628." He says : 

"If you keep the Lord's day and profane the Sabbath you walk in 
great peril and danger to say the least of transgressing- one of G-od's 
eternal and inviolabe laws, the Fourth Commandment; but on the 
other side, if you keep the Sabbath day; though you profane the 
Lord's day, you are out of all gunshot and danger; for you have 
transgressed no law at all, since Christ nor his Apostles did ever 
have any law for it." Cox's Sabbath Lit., Vol. 2, p. 162. 

Brabonrne tvas brought before the High Commission Court and 
retracted the View expressed in his Book. 

Then we have another work issued by him in A. D. 1630 and 
again in A. D. 1632. 

M A Defence of the Most Ancient and Sacred Ordinance of God, the 
Sabbath Day. Undertaken against all Anti-Sabbatarians, including 
Protestants. Papists, Antinomians and Anabaptists, and by Name 
and Especially Against these ten Ministers: M. Greenwood, M. 
Hutchinson. M. Furnace, M. Benton, M. Gillard, M. Yates, M. 
Chappel, M. Stinnet, M. Johnson and M. Warde." 

Tais work brought Bishop White into the field, who replied in 
A. D. 1635. 

"A Treatise on the Sabbath Day, containing a Defence of the 
Orthodoxal Doctrine of the Church of England against Sabbatarian 
Novelty." The work is dedicated to Archbishop Laud. White 
speaks of Brabourne as follows; 

"A certain Minister of Northfolk, where I myself of late years 
was Bishop, published a Tractate of the Sabbath: and. proceeding 
after the rule of Presbyterian principles, among which, this was 
principal; That all religious observations and actions, and among 
the rest, the ordaining and keeping of Holy days, mnst have a spec- 
ial warrant and commandment in Holy Scriptures, otherwise the 
same is superstitious; concluded from thence, by necessary infer- 
ence, that the seventh day of every week, to wit. Saturday.' having 
an express command in the Decalogue, by a precept simply and 
p rpetually moral, (as the Sabbatarians teach) and the Sunday or 
Lord's-day being not commanded, either in the Law or in the Gos- 
pel 'the Saturday must be the Christians' weekly Sabbath, and the 
Sunday ought to be the working day.' "... 



1046 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

"Now because his Treatise of the Sabbath was dedicated to his 
Royal Majesty, and the principles upon which ho grounded all his 
arguments, (being commonly preached, printed and believed, 
throughout the kiugdom) might have poisoned and infected many 
people, either with this Sabbatarian error, or with some other of 
like quality; it was the King, our gracious Master, his will and 
pleasure, that a treatise should be set forth to prevent further mis- 
chief, aud to settle his good subjects (who have long been distracted 
about Sabbat irian questions) in the old and good way of the ancient 
and Orthodoxal Catholic Church." 

Introduction to Bishop Francis Wliite's Treatise on the Sabbath. 

A. D. 1636. "News of two scandalous Books, they say, printed 
and dispersed into many hands, concerning the Fourth Command- 
ment." Hist. Manuscript Com. Appendix Report 4, p. 292. 

These two "scandalous" books were Brabourne's. 

Bishop White, in replying to Theophilus Brabourne, lays down 
the foundation of modern belief, thus: 

"T. B. His Doctrine concerning the perpetual morality of the 
Saturday-Sabbath, is repugnant, to the publick sentence of the 
Church of England: and to the sentence of Divines who lived at the 
beginning of the Reformation. 

I. The Rubrick of our Liturgy, at the foot of the Calander, re- 
hearseth all, and every festivall Holy-day to be observed in our 
Church throughout the yeare; and it nameth all Sundays, Scg. 

Also the Curate is commanded, that he declair openly in the 
Church upon every Sunday, the Holy-dayes (if any bee) of every 
week, but the Saturday is none of these. 

The Homily of our Church, faith: Rev. i 10. 'I was in the Spirit 
on the Lord's day' since which time God's people have in ail ages 
without gainsaying used to come together upon the Sunday to cele- 
brate and honour the Lord's blessed name and carefully to keep 
that day in holy rest and quietness both man, woman, child and ser- 
vant. Ibid. We must be carefull to keepe &c not the seventh day, 
which the Jews kept, but the Lord's day, the day of our Lord's 
resurrection, the day after the seventh day; which is the first day 
of the week. 

Canon 13, A. D. 1603. All manner of persons within the Church 
of England, shall from henceforth, celebrate and keep the Lord's- 
day commonly called Sunday, and other holy days, &c (amongst 
which, the Saturday of every week is none). 

Statut. Edward, Beg is Anno 5 & 6. Neither is it to be thought, 
that there is any certain time, or definite number of days prescribed 
in Holy Scripture &c but that the appointment both of the time 
and also of the number of the days is left to the authority of God's 
word to the liberty of Christ's Church 

Bishop Cranmer's Catech. Anno 1548. The Jew3 were command- 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1047 

ed in the old Testament to keepe the Sabbath day, and they ob- 
served it every seventh day called the Sabbath or Saturday: But we 
Christian men in the new Testament are not bound to such com- 
mandment of Moses' law; and therefore we now keepe no more the 
Sabbath or Saturday, as the Jews did, but we observe the Sunday, 
and some other days. 

John Fryth declar. of Bapt. p. 96. Our Fathers which were in 
the beginning of the Church, did abrogate the Sabbath, to the in- 
tent that men might have an example of Christian liberty; and that 
they might know that neither the keeping of the Sabbath, nor of 
any other day is necessary 

Will. Tindal, Answer to D. More ca. 25-— We be lords over the 
Sabbath and may change it into Monday, or any other day as we 
see need 

D. Barnes' Articl. p. 206. Therefore be certain days assignedi 
that we should come together, not that the day in which we come 
together is holier than any other, but all days are alike equal. . . . 

Now from these Testimonials it appeareth T. B. His position con 
cerning the perpetual morality of the Saturday-Sabbath, and oui 
new mens assertion concerning the Sunday-Sabbath, are repugnant 
to the ancient and publick sentence of the Church of England." 

A Treatise on the Sabbath-day, pp. 3 to 6. 

Bishop White then proceeds to quote the Fathers of the Primitive 
Church, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Irenaeus, Origen, Council of La» 
odicea, Eusebius, etc., proving the Lord's day to be the first day. 
However the good Bishop overlooks the fact that the Lord's day 
festival was a vigil at first, and had been put back by the Curfew 
of William I from the first day to the seventh day, and that the 
Sunday Sabbatarians were keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, and 
therefore the reciting of the Fourth Commandment together with 
the response in our Church Services on Sunday, was right, and had 
the prior claim of being considered orthodox, while Bishop White's 
view was new and novel, having been misled by the English Re- 
formers, e. g. 

Archbishop Cranmer's Catechism of A. D. 1548 was discussed 
when the First Prayer Book was being revised, and was found want- 
ing, and therefore it did not find a place in the Secon 1 Prayer Book of 
Edward VI. The Fourth Commandment was revised to read "sev- 
enth day" instead of "Sabbath," and having been so revised it was 
approved by Archbishop Cranmer, himself, the Archbishop of York t 
together with the Bishop and clergy of both provinces, and con- 
firmed by an act of Parliament. Bucer and Peter Martyr, two 
foreign reformers who had been invited to take a hand in its revision, 



1048 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

were enabled to refute the Tewkesbury Jew story of Saturday being 
the Jew's Sabbath, and so put Archbishop Cranmer right. This is 
clear from Peter Martyr's comment on Rom. xiv, in speaking of days 
the observance of which was optional, says: 

"But we except the Lord's-day [Seventh-day Sabbath], for it be- 
longs to the Decalogue, as one day of the week was to be consecrated 
to the service of God: in the old dispensation God willed that day to 
be the seventh; that the memory of the creation of the world and of 
deliverance from Egypt might with more certainty be impressed on 
the mind; but afterwards the Lord's-day was substituted, that the 
memory of the resurrection of Christ, and of salvation obtained 
through Him, and our hopes of our own resurrection, might be im- 
pressed as deeply as possible on our minds; and it was appointed by 
the Apostles themselves, of which there is sufficiently plain mention 
in the Sacred Scriptures." 

Quoted from Baylee's History of the Sabbath, p. $09. 

An alteration was also made in the numbering of the Command- 
ments at the revision of the First Prayer Book. "Remember the 
Sabbath day" was always the Third Commandment, but in the Bish- 
op's Book, A. D. 1547, "Remember the Sabbath day" appears as the 
Fourth Commandment and this arrangement was accepted by the 
Compilers of the Second Prayer Book. Bucer, who founded the 
Lutheran sect, Tetrapolitans, followed this style, and doubtless he 
had some hand in changing the numbering in the Second Prayer 
Book. This arrangement was originally taken from Josephus (Ant. 
Book iii, chap, v, S. 5). "Fourth. That we must keep the seventh 
day by resting from all sorts of work." And Peter Martyr advo- 
cated this arrangement. Loci Communes, Basle, 1580, loc. 14, p. 684. 

However, the controversy went on and on, and at the time when 
I left England in 1888 seven societies had been formed to secu- 
larize the Sunday on the plea that it was the first day and not the 
seventh. Let us now see when the change was first made in our 
Statute law. In all of the Sunday laws down to the time of Ed- 
ward VI Sunday stands alone, thus: 

"All the days hereafter mentioned shall be kept and commanded 
to be kept holy days and none other; that is to say, all 'Sundays* in 
the year." (see p. 555) 

The next is the First Statute of Elizabeth. C. 2. 

"They were required to resort to the Parish Church for divine 
service upon every Sunday and other days ordained." 

We have the change in Charles I. 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. '049 



A. D. 1625. "An Act for punishing: divers abuses committed on 
the Lord's day commonly called Sunday'' {see p. 556) 
Then we have the Act of Charles II, chap. vii. 
A. D.1676. "Keep the Lord's day commonly called Sunday." 
We now come to the Scottish aots. 

A, D. 1579. "And seeing that the Sabbath dayes is now 
commonally violated and broken, as well within burghs as in the 
country, to the great dishonour of God, by holding and keeping the 
said markets and fairs on Sondays." (see p. 583) 

A. D. 1592. "Alteration of Mercet Dayes from the Sabbath- 
Dayes. It shall be allowed to all Towns and parishes, where markets 
were allowed to be kept and holden upon the Sabbath day (beiug 
prohibited by the law of God and the laws of the Realm so to con- 
tinue) to elect and choose any other day of the week for holding 
the said markets." [Tiiis Act identifies the Sabbath as the seventh 
day, "The law of God and the law of the realm K see p. 584) .] 

A t D. 1593. "An Act agains keepin of marcatfcis on the Sabbath 
day. . . . approves the acts made concerning discharging fairs 
and markets holden on the Sondayes." 

A. D. 1593. "That by an act and ordinance made concerning the 
observance of the Sabbath day . . . which was Sonday." 

A. D. 1594. "For the better observance of the Sabbath day. That 
whosoever profanes the Sabbath day by selling goods, &c. (seep. 595) 

A. D. 1598. "Considering one of the greatest causes which has 
procured God's judgement from time to time to fall upon this 
realm in bygone times has been the profanation of the Sabbath day, 
which should be alway bestowed and employed in God's service." Id. 

A. D. 1639. "The cacthing of Salmon and Hireling of Laborers 
on the Sabbath and Hireing of Shearers on Sooneday." (seep, 586) 

A. D. 1640, "Discharging the going of Salt pans and Mills upon 
the Sabbathe day." Id. 

A. D. 1641. "Act against gangin Salt pans and Mylens [mills] 
on the lord'3 day." [This is the first place where Lord's day is men- 
tioned in the Scottish Acts of Parliament, (seep. 587) .] 

A. D. 1646. "Act against going of Mills, Salt pans or fishing on 
the Lord's day." [We have in this act the change from the eve, to 
"midnight to midnight" (see p. 587).] 

A. D. 1690. "Of religious worship and the Sabbath day. . . . 
One day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto Him which 
from the begiuning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was 
the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ was 
changed into the first day of the week, which in scripture is called 
Lord's day and so to be continued to the end of the world as the 
Christian Sabbath." (see p. 588) [The change from the seventh to 



1050 How this Jews Changed their Sabbath. 



the first day in Scotland is first made in the reign of William and 
Mary.] 

In America we have the first Colonists from England arriving in 
A. D. 1607 to 1620. The time when Task was apprehended was in 
1618, so the Saturday- Sabbath was not introduced by the Taskites. 
The first Sunday law we find is the law of New Haven, 

1650. "Profane the Lord's day." 

1658. "Profaning the Lord's day." 

" 61. "Upon the Lord's day." 

The Massachusetts-Bay Colony we have 

1629. "Sabbath may be celebrated." 

" 44. Death penalty for "gathering sticks on the Sabbath." 

" 46. "On the Lord's day." 

" 53. "Lord's-day." 

"58. At the second session held in Boston Sabbath and Lord's 
day are used interchangeably. 

11 65. "Do profane G-od's holy Sabbaths." 
" 68. Lord's day and Sabbath used interchangeably, * 

" 73. "The Law of the Sabbath," 

" 77 and '79. "Prevent the profanation of the Sabbath." 

" 82. Massachusetts. Cromwell's law of "midnight to mid- 
night" is first recognized in this act. In all the previous laws the 
day begins and ends with sunset. 

" 73. Rhode Island. "Therefore by his Majesty's author- 
ity it is enacted that on the first days of the week." Here we have 
the change first made in America by Charles II. 

We have already given the testimony that Charles I believed that 
the Sunday was the Lord's day, or the first day, and therefore we 
are not surprised that he is the first in our statutes to depart from 
ancient usages. The Ten Commandments together with the Belief 
and Lord's prayer had been set up in the churches by Elizabeth in 
A. D. 1 560, two years previous to the Homily of A. D. 1562, and in 
A. D. 1 561 in the Book of Advertisement "it is ordered to sette the 
Tenne Commandments upon the easte walle over the said table," 
and the 82 can. of the Church of England, "to be set up on the 
east end of every church and chapel where the people may best see 
and read them." 

Thus we see that the Ten Commandments were placed in our 
Churches prior to the change of Charles I and has continued to our 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1051 

times, excepting the short periods when the Prayer Book was sup- 
pressed by Queen Mary, and Oliver Cromwell. 

However, during the time of the Civil War it became unsafe to 
advocate the Saturday- Sabbath, although it was much talked of, 
for the Presbyterians as well as the Royalists, were very dogmatic 
in not allowing any one to preach but the clergy. The Independents 
on the other hand, admitted no clergy but thought that every one 
had a right to instruct his fellows. At the head of this sect was 
Oliver Cromwell, and as soon as he came into power this reform 
movement commenced in real earnest. 

"He began/' says Neal, "with the Sabbath on March 22, 1642-3. 
Sent to the Lord Mayor of the City of London to desire him to put 
into execution the Statutes for the observance of the Lord s day. . 

. . , Offenders were to be punished as the law directs. This 
order had a very considerable influence upon the City which began 
to wear a different face of religion to what it had formerly done. 
May 5th, the Book tolerating Sports on the Lord's day was ordered 
to be burned by the common hangman in Cheaj side and other usu- 
al places; and all persons having any copies in their hands are re- 
quired to deliver them up to one of the sheriffs of London to be 
burned." History of the Puritans, Vol. 2, p. 454. 

However, there was free liberty to advocate anything and every- 
thing by anybody and everybody. The Saturday or Seventh-day 
Baptists were amongst the first to avail themselves of this religious 
liberty, and the first church or meeting house they had was built in 
Bull Stake Alley, High St. White Chapel. Their first Pastor was 
Doctor Peter Chamberlain. This appears from a Pamphlet, A. D. 
1655. "A Declaration of several Churches of Christ and G-odly 
People in and around the Citie of London; concerning the Kingly 
Interest of Christ and the present Sufferings of His Cause and 
Saints in England." In this Declaration appears a list of 142 names 
which is headed by Dr. Chamberlain, thus: "In the Name of the 
whol Church that walks with Dr. Chamberlain." This Church was 
afterwards moved to Mill Yard about one-half mile south of the 
Alley. We learn from Dr. Peter Chamberlain's tombstone in Wood- 
ham, Mortimer Churchyard, Essex, the following: 

"Dr. Peter Chamberlain was born 8th of May, 1601, and dyed 22 
December A. D. 1683, being 82 years old. That he took ye degree 
of Doctor of Physics in Several Universities; was Physician in Ordi- 
nary to three Kings and Queens of England, viz., King James and 
Queen Anue; King Charles I and Queen Mary; King Charles II and 
Queen Katherine. As for his religion [he] was a Christian, keeping 



1052 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath, 

the Commandments of God and faith of Jesus; being baptized 
[adult baptism] about ye year 1648 and keeping the seventh day for 
ye Sabbath about 32 years." 

Therefore the church must have been built between A. D. 1648 
A. D. 1654. 

The next we have in order to erect a place of worship for meeting 
on what was believed and taught to be the seventh day. i. e., Satur- 
day, was the Jews. Rabbi Hermann Adler at the Spanish* and Port- 
uguese Jews' School, on Sunday, May 1st, 5630 A. M. — 1870 A. D- 
and printed by request, says: 

"Historians have even gone so far as to assert that this accusation 
of clipping and adulterating the coin of the realm led to the ban- 
ishment of the Jews from this country. Dr. Gratz, however, has by 
diligent investigation 4 discovered that quite another fact led to their 
expulsion under Edward I., in the year 1290. A Dominican friar, 
Robert de Redinnge by name, who was an eloquent preacher and a 
good Hebrew scholar, was entrusted with the task of converting 
the Jews. But instead of converting them, he himself became con- 
verted. An earnest study of Holy Scriptures inspired him with so 
ardent a love of Judaism that he became a proselyte. The Domin- 
ican friars were infuriated by the disgrace which attached to their 
order in consequence of this conversion. They gained the bigoted 
queen-mother, Eleanor, over to their side, and she did not rest until 
King Edward issued an edict for the total expulsion of our people 
from this kingdom. The number of exiles is estimated as having 
amounted to upwards of sixteen thousand. All their property, debts, 
and mortgages were confiscated by the king. And. what is to be 
considered a greater loss, their synagogues throughout the land, and 
their valuable libraries at Oxford and Stamford, were appropriated 
by the ignorant monks, who could make no use of the treasures 
which fell into their hands. And thus again a remnant of Israel 
was exiled, outcast, and homeless. We can picture them to our- 
selves quitting this inhospitable country, with mingled feelings of 
joy and bitter grief, tearfully lamenting, — 

'But we must wander witheringly, 

In other lands to die; 
And where our fathers' ashes be 

Our own must never lie.' 

It is believed that, during a period of 365 years, not one Jew trod 
upon British soil (for it is very doubtful whether the infamous phy- 
sician, Rodriguez Lopez, was one of our nation, as is asserted by some 
historians). But at the end of that period Divine Providence had 
prepared the man by whose instrumentality our people were again to 
find a habitation on these shores, where they were destined to enjoy 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 10..3 



days immeasurably happier than their ancestors had seen. 

When Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England, the 
celebrated Rabbi, Manasseh ben Israel, of Amsterdam, a man who 
possessed great acquirements, considerable skill in languages, and a 
consummate knowledge of the world, conceived the idea of obtaining 
the re-admission of his brethren into this island. He was invited by 
Thurloe,the Secretory of State, whose acquaintance he had made at 
the Hague, to come over to England. 

When he arrived in this country, he presented to the Lord Protec- 
tor an address, drawn up with great eloquence and skill, in which 
he petitioned him to re-admit his people, and to grant them the 
free exercise of their religion. At the same time he published a 
declaration to the Commonwealth of England, in which he set forth 
the motives of his coming. Time will not allow me to dwell upon 
the negotiations which were now carried on, and in which Manasseh 
distinguished himself by his diplomacy and tact; nor upon the con- 
ferences held by Cromwell with lawyers, merchants, and divines 
Suffice it to say, that the Jews found a warm and powerful advocate 
in the Lord Protector, "Never in my life have I heard a man speak 
80 beautifully as His Highness did on this occasion," said Sir Paul 
Rycaut, "when he defended the Jews from the base accusations 
made against them." Many were the absurd rumours that were 
now spread; many the strange and unpractical plans that were now 
proposed. It was bruited abroad, and widely believed, that the 
Jews had offered half a million of pounds sterling on condition of 
obtaining St. Paul's Cathedral for their synagogue and the famous 
Bodleian Library at Oxford. Harrington, a well-known writer of 
those days, in his Oceana, gravely proposed disburdening the king- 
dom of the weight of Irish affairs by selling the island to the Jews. 
Fortunately for us, the plan was not entertained. Numbers of 
pamphlets were published on this question. Several opponents re- 
vived the disgraceful accusation that the Jews murdered Christian 
children for the Passover, and they gained their living principally 
by usury. Manasseh ben Israel published his ablest work in reply 
to these attacks, 'Vindiciae Jndaeorum; or, a Letter in Answer to 
Certain Questions Impounded by a Noble and Learned Gentleman 
(William Prynne) Touching the Reproaches cast upon the Nation of 
the Jews;' and in his treati.se he triumphantly rebutted those 
charges. 

His untiring exertions in behalf of his brethren, though noti m- 
mediately crowned with the success they deserved, were fully ap- 
preciated by his friends, and notably by the Lord Protector, w r ho 
treated him with marked respect; and in proof of this, I may men- 
tion that there is a record among Cromwell's privy seals to the fol- 
lowing effect (see Carlyle's "Letters and Speeches of Oliver Crom- 
well," London, 1S57, iii. 135): — "To Manasseh ben Israel, a pension of 
one hundred pounds per annum.' 



1054 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

One very interesting fact in connection with his visit to this 
country is not generally known. The University of Oxford confer- 
red the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Medicine upon his son 
Samuel ben Israel, in acknowledgement of his scientific attain- 
ments, with all the ceremonies observed on such occasions. The 
square cap was placed upon his head, a golden ring upon his finger, 
and the kiss of peace was imprinted on his cheek. This fact would 
seem to show that the University was more enlightened in the year 
1655 than it is in 1870, and I hope that at the ensuing debates on 
the University Tests Bill our Jewish Members will draw the atten- 
tion of Parliament to this circumstance. And while on this subject, 
I cannot refrain from mentioning that we have been very ungrate- 
ful to the memory of Manasseh ben Israel. Why is there not a sin- 
gle institution in our midst bearing his name? Why have wr no 
edition of his works, no biography of this great and good man, who, 
though but a humble preacher, neither richly endowed with worldly 
goods, nor possessed of much influence, laboured so energetically 
and disinterestedly for the good of his brethren. 

Although Parliament could not be induced to pass a special Bill 
for legalizing the re-admission of the Jews in England, Manasseh 
prevailed upon Cromwell to allow some of our people to settle here, 
Several Spanish and Portuguese Jews at once availed themselves of 
this privilege. There is a document in the archives of this syna- 
gogue, dated February. 1657, which gives 'An acount of a piece of 
ground in the parish of Stepney, granted to the Jews for a burying 
ground.' It is the very spot where their hospital now stands. In 
the same year they erected the first Portuguese synagogue, in King 
Street, Duke's Place. They must have increased very rapidly, for 
about ten years after they elected . . the great Talmudist, Jacob 
Sasportas, who had accompanied Manasseh ben Israel on his visit. 
Soon after a number of German Jews arrived and settled in London, 
and their numbers also increased so rapidly that the} found it nec- 
essary to build a synagogue. It is a noteworthy circumstance that 
this place of worship was erected, in the year 1692, on the site now 
occupied by the present Great Synagogue in Duke's Place, at the 
sole expense of one pious and benevolent individual, Moses Hart, the 
brother of the great German Chief Rabbi of their congregation, Uri 
Phoebus. 

It would be an interesting task to delineate the gradual rise and 
progress of our community, to describe with what devotion and 
steadfast adherence to the priniples of their faith, their members 
founded educational and charitable institutions, of which we may 
well be proud.* I would also fain speak to you of the eminent men 



* The oldest Jewish charitable institution in this country is a 

Society entitled established in the year 

1664, for the study of the law, and the education and clothing of 
boys belonging to the Portuguese congregation. 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath 1055 



who shone by their learning, their piety their patriotism, or their 
benevolence. But the hour is wearing- on apace, and I can only* 
single out a few names. Among theologians I would particularise 

R. David Nieto, author of the (on the Oral Law), elected 

Chacnam of the Portuguese Congregation in 1701, famed as a pro- 
found scholar, an eloquent preacher, a poet, astronomer, and lin- 
guist; and R. David Tebli Schiff, elected, in 1764, Chief Rabbi of the 
congregation of German Jews, whose valuable annotations on the 
Talmud and Responsa are contained in the work Of sci- 
entific men, I would mention, Emanuel Mendes da Costa, a very 
skillful physician and naturalist, who was elected Secretary and Li- 
brarian of the Royal Society, and filled this honourable post with 
great credit until bis death (in 1769). Among financiers I will sin- 
gle out Sampson G-ideon, one of the great props of the money mar- 
ket, who, at the time of a severe panic, when the Pretender was 
marching with an army against London (1746), alone stood firm and 
unaff righted, and bought up all the stocks in the market, which 
were being sold at any price. Our need of praise is also due to the 
benevolent brothers, Abraham and Benjamin Goldsmid, the founders 
of the Jews' Hospital, whose names were mentioned with profound 
respect by high and low, whose fame the newspapers trumpeted 
forth, one day recording the grandeur of some entertainment given 
to royalty, on the next relating a visit of mercy paid to the cell of 
a criminal." Jews in England, pp. 19-26. 

We will now see what the Churchman, Dean Milman, says about 
the return of the Jews. 

"It was not till the Protectorate of Cromwell, that the Jews made 
an open attempt to obtain a legal re-establishment in the realm. 
The strength of ancient pr judice co-operating with the aversion of 
a large part of the nation towards the government, gave rise to the 
most absurd rumours of th^ir secret proposals to the Protector. It 
was bruited abroad, and widely believed, that they had offered 
£500,000, on condition of obtaining St. PauVs Church for their syn- 
agogue, and the Bodleian Library to begin business with. Harry 
Martin and Hugh Peters were designated as the profane or fanatic 
advisers of this strange bargain. Another equally ridiculous story 
was propagated of certain Asiatic Jews, who sent a deputation to 
inquire whether Cromwell waa not the Messiah, and went to Hunt- 
ingdon with the ostensible design of buying the Hebrew books be- 
longing to the University of Cambridge, but with the real object of 
searching the Protector's pedigree to find whether he could claim 
Jewish descent. The plain fact was this — a physician of great 
learning and estimation among the Jews, Manasseh Ben Israel, pre- 
sented a petition to the Protector for the re-admission of his coun- 
trymen to the realm. Tae address was drawn with eloquence and 
skill — it commenced by recognising the hand of God in the appoint- 



idoti 11 ow the Jews Changed their Sabbath 



inent of Cromwell to the throne; it dexterously insinuated the in- 
stability of all governments unfavourable to the Jews, and it as- 
serted the general joy with wh ch the amb^^adors of the Republic 
had been received in the synagogues of the Jews. Manasseh Ben 
Israel issued a second address to the Commonwealth of England. 
It complimented the general humanity of the nation, stated his sole 
object to be the establishment of a synagogue in the kingdom: it adroit- 
ly endeavored to interest the religious enthusiasm of the nation on 
his side, by declaring his conviction, that the restoration of Israel, 
and of course the Last Day, was at hand; it did not neglect the tem- 
poral advantages of the worldly, the profit to be derived from their 
traffic; and concluded with expressing his sincere attachment to a 
Commonwealth abounding in so many men of piety and learning. 
Whether moved by one or all these reasons, Cromwell summoned an 
assembly of 2 lawyers, 7 citizens of London, and 14 divines, to de- 
bate the question: 1, Whether it was lawful to admit the Jews; 2, If 
lawful, on what terms it was expedient to admit them. The lawyers 
decided at once on the legality; the citizens were divided; but the 
contest among the divines was so long and so inconclusive, that 
Oliver grew weary, and the question was adjourned to a more fa- 
vourable opportunity. It is a curious fact of the times, that so far 
were some of the republican writers from hostility to the Jews, that 
Harrington, in his Oceana, gravely proposes disburdening the king- 
dom of the weight of Irish affairs, by selling Ireland to the Jews. 
The necessities of Charles II. quietly accomplished that change 
which Cromwell had not dared openly to venture. The Jews stole 
insensibly into the kingdom, where they have ever since maintained 
their footing, and no doubt contributed their fair proportion to the 
national wealth." Milman's History of the Jews. pp. 480-1. 

The sole object of Manasseh Ben Israel was to establish a syna- 
gogue in the Kingdom. The lawyers decided on its legality, but the 
citizens and divines could not agree. The Star Chamber had been 
abolished and therefore the Jews had nothing to fear; and so they 
came over and in time they built their Metropolitan synagogue un- 
der the protection of Cromwell and his lawyers. 

The historian Macaulay says: 

,; The Protector's foreign policy at the time extorted the ungra- 
cious approbation of those who most detested him. The Caveliers 
who could scarcely refrain from wishing that one who had done so 
much to raise the fame or the nation had been a legitimate King; 
and the republicans were forced to own that the tyrant suffered 
none but himself to wrong his country; and that, if he had robbed 
her of liberty, he had at least siven h er glory in exchange. After 
a half century, during which England had been of scarcely more 
weight in European polities than Venice or Saxony, she at once be- 
came the most formidable power in the world, dictated terms of 



How the Jew- Changed Their Sabbath. 1057 

peace to the United Province-, avenged the common injuries of 
Curistendom on the pirates of Barbary, vanquished the Sp n;aids by 

land and sea, seized one of the finest West India islands, and ac- 
quired on the Flemish Coast a fortress which consoled the national 
pride for the loss of Calais. Sne was supreme on the Ocean. She 
was head of the Protestant interest, all the reformed Churches scat- 
tered over Roman Catholic Kingdoms acknowledged Cromwell as 
their guardian. The Huguenots of Languedoc. the shepherds wo, 
in the hamlets of the Alps, professed Protestantism, older than 
that of Augsburg, were secure from oppression by the mere terror 
of that great name. The Pope himself was forced to preach hu- 
manity and moderation to Popish Princes. For a voice which sel- 
dom threatened in vain had declared that, unless favour was shown 
to the people of God. the English guns should be heard in the Castle 
of Saint Angelo." 

Idacaulay's History of England. Vol. I, pp. 107-?. 

Here, then, we have the Jews' synagogue opened for worship on 
Saturday morning, in a place that became the world's metropolis, and 
in consequence of the liberty which the reformation brought to the 
Jews everywhere they rapidly fell into line with the English Jews 
and made Saturday their Sabbath, and it has remained so ever since* 

"We have evidenced the fact that the Portuguese and Spanish 
Jews according to Father Alvarez (the Portuguese Embassy to 
Abyssinia. A. D. 1520-7) kept the Saturday half holiday, and com- 
menced their Sabbath on Saturday afternoon, and not on Friday , 
and the same may be said of the German Jews. Luther says, that 
those Christians who want to keep the Sabbath like the Jews must 
keep it from Sun's eve, i. e., Saturday afternooon. From this it is 
clear that when the Portuguese Jews left Portugal for England 
they commenced the Sabbath on Saturday afternoon, and the same 
may be said of the German Jews who built their synagogue in A. D. 
1692. Another synagogue was built in Saint Helen's Bishopsgate in 
A. D. 183S, and now they are scattered everywhere over the country 
all keeping the Saturday-Sabbath. Charles I and Cromwell had le- 
galized the Lord's day as the first day, and the discussion about the 
Sabbath was at its height when the Jews arrived in England, and 
not one single wriier attempted to show that Sunday was the seventh 
day. Cromwell had suppressed the Prayer Book, the Ten Com- 
mandments, and the Responses, and there was absolutely nothing to 
show that Sunday was the seventh day, but the traditions of the 
Commonality, and this was entirely overlooked or treated as vulgar^ 
They a]! assumed that Sunday was the first day, for this question 



1058 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

had never been discussed in any other country, and could never have 
arisen in England if the Jews had been allowed to remain, but having 
been expelled for three hundred and sixty-five years, they s'mp'y 
conformed to the view taken by the government, the Church clergy, 
the learned and elite, and like the Seventh-day Baptists the Jew* 
changed their day of worship. 

This question is a set ions matter for the pious Jews, and I would 
suggest that our Jewish brethren should search up their own data. 
They have one which was compiled by their own Rabbins at a time 
when their ancestors met for worship on the Sunday-Sabbath. Just 
see if this era A. M. begins on Sunday or Monday as the first day. 

The belief of Christendom is, that Monday was the day when God 
said: "Let there be light, and there was light" (see Leo Ep. p. 1030 
and Justin's Apology, p. 662), and the Christians got this belief from 
the Asiatic fasting Jews. Acts xx 7 wa9 an Assyrio-Catholic as- 
sembly or an Asiatic synagogue, and the lighting of "many lights" 
was to memorialize the first day of Creation with the breaking of 
bread, and Easter eve was the night of nights, which was believed 
to be the first night in the cycle. However, while the Jews com- 
puted like the Christians, with the eve, they began with the lunar 
month Tishri or September, the tradition they follow states 
that the world was created on the first day of this month, i. e., New- 
moon-day, a word that has cradled Monday into existence to denote 
the first day of the week, but the Jews celebrated the feast of Crea- 
tion at the end of the Creation week, i. e., on the seventh day, i. e M 
on Sunday, and their Sabbath lamp, which contains seven cotton 
wicks, denotes the seven days of Creation. The feast of the first 
Creation day of the Assyrio-Catholic Church still survives in the 
Roman Catholic Church, and the custom of lighting "many lights" 
is a part of the mass, and was moved back when the vigils were 
discontinued, and this accounts for the "altar lights" now in the 
churches during the day time. 

A converted Israelite once asked the question, "What advantage 
hath the Jew?" and answered it by saying: "Much every way. 
Chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God." 
Now the Jews have not lost the oracle, they simply did not consult 
it when they met for worship on Friday eve, for if they had they 
would never have met for worship on that day and designated it the 
Sabbath. However, the villagers and commonality who had not 
heard of the Tewkesbury Jew still believed that Sunday was the 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1059 

seventh day, but no one could prove it. 

The next place of worship opened on Saturday was Pinner's Hall 
near Broad Street. Francis Bamfeld was the first pastor of the 
Seventh-day Baptist Church, and being one of the divines who was 
unable to conform to the act of uniformity of A. D. 1662, he spent 
most of his time in prisons. Upon his release he formed a church 
at Pinner's Hall, A, D. 1681. Edward Stennett became the pastor 
in A. D, 1666-9 and Joseph Stennett A. D. 1690 to 1713. He was 
the author of the well-known hymn — 

"Another sixdays' work is done; 
Another Sabbath is begun: 
Return my Soul unto thy rest; 
Revere the day that God has blessed." 

And the next church was built in Mill-yard, Goodman's Fields. 
London E., A. D. 1693, and destroyed by fire A. D. 1790. The 
church was rebuilt the same year. The church that first met at 
Bull Stake Alley removed to Mill-yard, Goodman's Fields. The 
first pastor was Doctor Chamberlain. Then followed John James. 

"In the person of John James we have a noted instance of mar- 
tyrdom for nonconformity, and for obedience to the Sabbath. Oc- 
tober 19th, 1661, while Mr. James was preaching at the meeting 
place in Bull Siake Alley, he was arrested, tried, and committed for 
a time to Newgate prison, then sentenced to be hanged at Tyburn, 
near Hyde Park, and while still alive to have his entrails drawn ard 
his heart taken out and burned; his head to be taken off, and placed 
first on London Bridge, and afterward set up on a pole in White- 
chapel, opposite to the meeting place in Bull Stake Alley; his body 
to be cut into quarters, and a quarter placed on each of four of the 
seven gates of the city. 

Mr. James gaiued great sympathy and respect for his devotion 
and submission to God. On the day of his execution he was bound 
to a sled, and drawn through the slush of the streets to Tyburn, 
where he spoke with great power, and prayed with such fervency 
that the hangman would not execute the full tenor of the sentence, 
but in compassion permitted him to become fully dead before he 
was drawn and quartered. In other respects the sentence was ex- 
ecuted. His quarters were exposed on four of the gates, supposed 
to be the four nearest to the meeting place, namely, Aldgate, Bish- 
opsgate, Moorgate. and Aldeivgate. What became of the fragments 
of the body is not known, but God will reward this faithful martyr 
when the souls beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of 
God (Rev. xx) shall come to life and reign with Christ." 

Sabbath Memorial, p. 184. 
w w w 3 



1060 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



The Rev. W. M. Jones gave me a photograph of John James on 
his way to Tyburn, and we produce it on opposite page. 

Henry Soursby was the next pastor, then John Maulden, John 
Savage, Robert Cornthwaite, Daniel Noble, William Slater, William 
Henry Black and W. M. Jones. This gentleman held the pastorate 
until the chapel went into other hands. We take the following from 
the Sabbath Memorial: 

"Change of Address. Correspondents will please note that our 
address is no longer 15, Mill Yard, Leman Street, but 56, Mildmay 
Park, London, N. 

That ancient site, Mill Yard, purchased by our people in 1689, was 
on the 19th of June, 1885, delivered into the hands of the London, 
Tilbury and Southend Railway Company, who, with the Blackwell 
versus the Great Eastern Railway, are now literally engulphing it. 
Henceforth our church's rallying point will be (so soon as the new 
chapel can be built) at 56, Mildmay Park, which is easily reached 
by train from Broad Streeet or by tram from Moorgate Street." 

Sabbath Memorial, p. 511. 

However, the new church was never built. The G-eneral Baptists 
put in a claim that the purchase money should go to them, and af- 
ter a legal battle they won the day. It appeared that the church 
had been supported by the revenue from lands that had been left for 
the support of Sabbatarian chinches. The General Baptists main- 
tained that their churches were Sabbatarian and that they kept the 
Sabbath, and so the Seventh-day Sabbatarians lost their case to the 
great disappointment of Mr. Jones and his little flock. 

However, while Pinner's Hall has ceased to exist as a meeting- 
place for worship, it having been turned into a solicitor's office and 
Mill Yard demolished to make room for railway improvements, the 
following is a list of the places where the Saturday-Sabbath congre- 
gations meet; "Aberystwith, Berkenhead, Clones, Grimsby, Ketter- 
ing, Keynsham, Commercial Street and Holloway, London; Nattou, 
Southampton, Ulcerby, Wellingboro." Sabbath Memorial, p. 620. 

We will now notice the writers: Thomas Broade, of Oxford, A. 
D. 1621, wrote a reply to Doctor Bownde's work, "The First Day is 
not the Seventh." He says: 

"1 have much mervailed, wherefore some must nodes haue the 
Lords day be the 7 th, so contrary to the Scriptures who terme it the 
first of the weeke ia two. places: aud at the mouth of two witnesses 
we would thitike, this matter should be established. But it seemeth, 
as Isaac said, Jacob have I blessed, & he shal be blessed, so they thinke; 
God blessed the 7th day, and it must be blessed: wherefore vnless 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1061 




THE PROCESSION TO TYBURN. 

(Taken from a Wood Gut now in the British Museum.) 



1062 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

the Lords day come to be the 7th, it is not blessed and sanctified. 
But they should consider that God did not blesse the dav, because it 
was the 7th; had he, then were it some .teaon. that the name and 
blessing should still goe together: but now, he blessed the day, be- 
cause he had rested therein, and if these two may be sundered, 
much more the other. What God hath put asunder, let not man 
ioyne together, Lords day and seventh day: it will not procure them 
a blessing to goe about in such sort to maintaine the trueth. If 
their doctrine can otherwise be maintained, I desire them in Christs 
name, that they would: if their doctrine cannot otherwise be main- 
tained, I admonish them in the feare of God to teach such doctrine, 
as may. Were it once receaved that wee must sanctifie the 7th day: 
and they, neyther by Scripture, reason, nor Fathers can proue, that 
the day we doe now sanctifie, is the seventh: will it not come to 
passe, that we shall fall back to the Iewes day? The Scripture is 
against them, and that in two places, Acts xx, I Cor. xvi. Reason 
is against fchem: for if the Iewes Sabbath vntill the change were the 
7th, how should the next day be the seventh also? the name seventh 
hath reference to other dayes going before: shall one and the same 
day bee the seventh of one weeke, and the sixth of the next weeke? 
Finally, by this answere, as by the former, the word seventh should 
be taken in one sence in the beginning of the commandment, and 
in another afterward: for after it is said, and rested on the seventh 
day. Here by seventh day must needs be meant one certain day: no 
man will say, that God rested on the day, we no now keepe holy [i. e. 
first day]. Againe, if by seventh day Ex. xx, any day be meant, as 
well as Saturday: by first day Act xx, why shall not any day be 
meant as well as Sunday? But not to stand longer hereabout: this 
last answere cannot stand without the overthrow of God's weeke: 
that it may be receaved, God had need to make the world againe." 

Sabbath Memorial, p. 555. 

Theophilus Brabourne, who wrote ,{ the two scandalous books," re- 
canted, and quietly conformed to the Church of England, until the 
Inquisition of the Star Chamber was demolished, when he again 
took up his pen and wrote two other works advocating the Satur- 
day-Sabbath. The one in A. D. 1654 and the ether in A. D. 1657, 
and the writers who took the same view were Edward Brerewood in 
A. D. 1630; James Ockford, A. D. 1642; Edward Fisher, A. D. 1652; 
Edward Stennett, 1658. Thus at the end of Cromwell's rule we 
have as many as nine works advocating the Saturday- Sabbath, and 
by far, a greater number written to overthrow them. The reader 
who wants to pursue this list can find them in Cox's Sabbath Liter- 
ature in 2 volumes, 1875. 

The Editor of the American Tract Society has given a reprint of 
Doctor Bownde's and Doctor Heylin's works on the Sabbath, and in 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 1063 

the introduction to the latter, Doctor Lewis writes: 

"Theologically, Heylin wrote from the Church-of- England stand- 
point, but his theological views do not, in the main, vitiate his work 
as a historian, since he gives facts, from which each reader must 
formulate his own conclusions. The second book opens with chap- 
ter one, under the title: 'There is nothing found in Scripture touch- 
the keeping of the Lord's day.' " 

The Outlook^ January 1891, p. 53. 

We take one of Heylin's historical facts: 

'Pope Sylvester, a3 Polydore Virgil, is of opinion, hating the 
name and memory of the Gentile gods, gave order that the days 
should be called by the name of Feriae, and the distinction to be 
made by prima f eria, secunda feria, etc., the Sabbath and Lord's-day 
holding their names and places as they did before. But 
by their leaves this is no universal rule, the writers of the Christian 
Church not tying up their hands so strictly, as to give the days 
what names they pleased, save that the Saturday is called amongst 
them by no other name than that which formerly it had, the Sab- 
bath. So that whenever, for a thousand years and upward we meet 
with Sabbatum, in any writer of what name soever, it must be un- 
derstood of no day but Saturday." 

The Outlook, April, 1891, p. 60. 

Let us examine this fact. When Heylin wrote his history of the 
Sabbath, we ask, What day does he mean, Saturday or Sunday? He 
means Sunday, following the traditional belief of Sabbath-breaking 
as applied to Sunday. Therefore Peter Heylin flatly contradicts 
Peter Heylin when he says that for over a thousand years the word 
Sabbatum in Latin means Saturday. But let us go back and trace 
the traditional belief of both days as the Sabbath. The Saturday 
has an history that carries it back in England to the Curfew, but it 
has never been a holy day, and the phrase, "Sabbath-breaking," has 
never been applied to it; but the Sunday- Sabbath has a history that 
carries us back to the time of Justin Martyr, A. D. 140. 

The earliest mention of "Sabbath-breaking" in England carries us 
back to the practice of cannibalism when it was the custom "to kill 
a male and female Kvmry on Saturday in order to be spared the 
sin of "Sabbath-breaking" (see p. 988). 

The legend of the rude circle of Stones in Cornwell is said to be a 
representation of young girls who were turned into stones for dancing 
on "the Sabbath." (see p. 988) 

''Observance of Sunday. Patrick seems to have paid much re- 
spect to this day. His resting- on Sunday (dommach) is recorded on 



1064 How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 

pp. 146, 192. and he is said twice to have tried to prevent the heath- 
en from digging raths on that day {pp. 192, 222, 271, 289). A rule 
for Sunday is in nowise to trans^re^s upon it is mentioned on p. 
501. Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, Edited by Win. Stokes. 

Introduction Vol.1, 5th Century, Rolls Series. 

A. D. 1211. Post-curfew. Jocelin, a monk of Bury, St. Ed- 
munds, who wrote the Life of St. Patrick, uses the words Lord's 
day and Sabbath interchangeably for the same day, and '-violating 
the Sabbath" comes out when the heathen were working after the 
mid-hour day (see p. 863). 

A. D. 800. "Sabbbath. A cripple reaches Malmesbury on the 
Sabbath, and staying in the Church all night, is cured on the Son- 
day [night], i. e. Dominicus. 

A woman who breaks the Sabbath is punished with paralysis." 
[see also index under the word, Sabbath] 

Latin Text, Willelmi Malmesbiriensis Monachi. 
Gesta Pontificum Anglorum pp. 394-H8, Rolls Series. 

A. D. 867. Testimony of Bernard the Wise. "I must not, 
however, omit to state that on holy Saturday, which is the eve of 
Easter, the office is begun in the morning of this Church and after 
it is ended the Kyrie Elesion is chanted until an angel comes and 
lights the lamps which hang over the said sepulchre, of which lights 
tne patriarch gives his share to the bishop and to the rest of the 
people that each may illuminate his own house. Tne present Patri- 
arch is called Teodosius." [A. D.869-8Y9] 

Early Travels in Palestine, Bohn's Edition, p. 15. 

Bernard, who had always celebrated the Easter festival on nox 
Dominica — Sunday night; in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, no. 
ticed a difference in point of time, i. e., it was celebrated on the 
morning of the Sabbath (the custom of the Greek Church). Now 
this day was Sunday and not Siturday. The translator admits this 
by saying, "Saturday, which is the eve -of Easter." Now, if Satur- 
day was the eve of Easter, then Sunday must have been Easter day, 
and not "Holy Saturday." If the office for Easter was said on Sat- 
urday morning, then Friday evening must have been the eve of 
Easter. It is simply impossible to translate Sabbath into Saturday; 
they are different days, and when the translator informs his readers, 
as he does on p. 191, "that Sabbatum, or dies Sabbati, is Latin for 
Saturday," he leads his readers astray. The testimony of Bernard 
is conclusive, i. e., that Sunday is the Sabbath, and not "Holy 
Saturday." One other case must suffice. 

A. D. 704. "Three pieces of the Cross are exhibited for the ado- 
ration of the people three times, only, in the venr. namely, on the 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1065 

day of the Lord's Supper, the day of Preparation, and on the Holy 
Saturday, in the Church of St. Sophia, Constantinople. On the 
first of these, the chest, which is two cubits long and one broad, is 
set on a golden altar, with the Holy Cross exposed to view, the Em- 
peror first approaches, and after him all the different ranks of lay- 
men, in order to kiss and worship it. On the following day, the 
Empress and all the married women and virgins do the same. And 
on the third day the bishops and different orders of clergy observe 
the same ceremonies. .... Arculf saw other relics at Con- 
stantinople and sailed for his own country." Id. p. 15. 

The Latin, as given by Bede (edited by Dr. Giles), reads: 

4, On the day of the Lord's Supper — in coena Domini; the day of 
Preparation — in parasceue, and on the Holy Sabbath — et in Sabbato 
tancto" Bede's Eccl. Hist., Vol iv, C. xix.p. 441. 

A. D. 672 to 731. The Venerable Bede, who Wrote in Latin, al- 
ways used the word Sabbatum to denote Sunday, and never once 
Saturday; and my perpetual Calander proves that his Sabbath is 
identical with our word Sunday, where he gives a full date (see 
pp. 892 to 899;. 

A. D. 700 to A. D. 1160. The Gospels in Anglo-Saxon and North- 
umbrian versions. We have given every text which mentions the 
word Sabbath in the King James version of the four Gospels, and 
have given the Saxon translation of the four manuscripts, which 
date from A. D. 700 to A. D. 1 lt>0. which overlaps the period when 
the Saturday was first called Sabbath, by one hundred years, and in 
every text quoted Sabbath or Sabbatum, it is translated into "Sun. 
nadaeg,'' "Reste-daege," "Symble-daeges." This latter name marks 
the period when the "Reste-daege" gave place to the "Assembly. 
day," when the Curfew Law was passed. And there is evidence 
(John ix 14) that "Sunnadaeg" is the translation of the "Jews' Sab- 
bath." {see pp. 961 to 973) 

A. D. 875 to 901. King Alfred's laws are given in the Saxon. 
He gives us thd Ten Commandments. The Fourth one says: "Re- 
member to hallow the rest day. Work for yourselves six days, and 
on the seventh rest." The Sabbath was spent as a rest-day (see p. 
534). 

And the same may be said of St. Columbia, who prophecied 
his own death. He said: "This day in Holy Scripture is called the 
Sabbath, which means rest; and this day is indeed a Sabbath to me. 
for it is the last day of my present labour ious life, and on it I rest." 
He died June 9th, A. D. 597, and this day, according to my perpet- 
ual Calander, is Sunday (see p. 852). 



1UG6 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



A. D. 1056. The laws of Edward, the Confesser, which are writ- 
ten in Latin, use the Latin words Sabbatis, and dies Sabbatum to 
describe the Sunday law of Edgar (see p^ 504). 

A. D. 1232. "About this time [at Sittingbourne] when Henry 
bishop of Rochester, had been confirming- holy orders on some can- 
didates on the Sabbath [not Saturday, but Sunday] when the an- 
them, 'Come He that Thirst to the Waters,' is chanted." 

A, D. 1234. "Edmund of Abingdon, on Sunday [at Canterbury], 
on which the anthem, "Rejoice, O Jerusalem!' is chanted, that is to 
say, on the 2nd of April." [This day fell on Sunday. Here we 
have the change, the Sabbath morning service first called the Lord's 
day.] Matthew of Westminster, Vol. 2, pp. 164-74, Bohn's Ed. 

The old Saxon and early English Homilies, which date from 
Edgar's time, A. D. 971, to A. D. 1220, use the Saxon Sunnan-daeg 
as a translation of the Latin Sabbath, and follow the Saxon Gospels, 
and reference is made to the Jewish Sabbath under the Saxon 
equivalent, Jews' Sunnadage (see pp. 973-82). 

A. D. 1260. We come to the Latin (not Norman-French of 
William I) of Rishanger's Tewkesbury Jew, who fell into the privy 
on the Sabbath and remained there until Monday morning (see p. 
1019). 

Wy cliff has the honor of being the first to introduce the Latin 
word Sabbath into our language. In his translation of the Holy 
Scriptures he has not followed the writers of the Saxon Gospels, nor 
the laws of England, but has followed Ulfilas (Veteris et novi Tes. 
tamenti version Gothica), who introduced the Latin Sabbath into 
the High German language, and Wycliff has done the same for Eng- 
land, viz., Matt, xii 8. "The Sabote is maad for man, and not man 
for the Sabote, and so mannys sone is lord also the Sabote." How- 
ever, in his writings, he uses the word Sunday as its equivalent, but 
more frequently Sabbath, viz., "Men should not be idle but busy 
on the Sabbath day, about their souls, as men on the week day about 
the body" (see p. 864). 

Now, in all the English translations of the Bible down to the 
time of James I, the translators have followed Wycliff in this re- 
spect; and so the word Sabbath has become an English word, and as 
the Bible became known and read, the word Sabbath became popu- 
lar; and therefore Sabbath observance and "Sabbath-breaking" be- 
came the everyday language of the people. However, in the Welsh 
version of the Scriptures, the word Sabbath is translated into Sul- 
Sunday (seep. 859). 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. L067 

Wycliff was born A. D. 1 324; died 1384. In A. D. 1300. how- 
ever, we have in the Cursor Alandi the Sabbath mentioned thus: 

1 1997. "Qui dos thou men sli plant to Mak: For the wircking on 
vr Sabbat." Cursor Mundi, Early English Text Society. 

However, we never meet with Sabbat; it is always the Sabote of 
Wycliff, long after King James" Version. 

A. D. 1322. M B tween the City of Dark and the City of Ray- 
shane is a river which they call Sabotorye. for on the Saturday [S*b- 
batum in the original, and refers to Sunday and not Saturday] it 
runs fast, but ail the week else ic srandeth still." p. 191. 

Early Travels in Palestine, Sir John Maundivill's, Bohn's E 

A. D. 1359. Thorsby put forth his Catechism — the Latin ver- 
sion for the clergy, an i the English for the people— and. uses the word 
Sononday as the translation of Sabbath (see p. 1028). 

A. D. 1400, ■•Again in the Sabbathe eve Adam was created.'* 

L. Lloyd, Consent of Time. p. 6. 

A. D. 1456. "John Johnson was fined fourpence because he 
housed corn on the Sabbath "Ho-pita bai frumentum .... 
die Sabbatf .'* Town Records of Beverly. Sabbath Memorial, p. 54. 

A. D. 1.-09. • The Sibbath to worship and sanctify, always the 
-eventh aay of the week, called Sunday." 

Barclay Ship of Fools. Vol 2. p. 17 5. London. 1374. 

This was the year that Henry VII [ came to the throne, and on 
the eve of the Reformation the Sunday is identified with the Sab- 
bath, and both called the Seventh day. 

A. D. 1552. ••Item. A c jope of purpail Velvett with anng-ella, 
Flowers theruppon for Saboth dayes." Ritual Blue Book. p. 149. 

A. D. 1552. ••English and Latin Dictionary by Richard Haloet. 
English, Sabbot daye; Latin, Sabbatum." 

A. D. 1554-5. ''Sabbath breaking for the first time was made a 
penal offence, an inovation more characteristic of the Puritan times 
of Elisabeth than of the Catholic Mary. 'Received of Richard Or- 
chardson. shoemaker, for openyng his wyndowes on Sonday in ser- 
vice tyme. and for that his chymny was on fyre by nyght." ana tor 
that he wa3 very poore he was f orgsoyn payment of the whole. ' " 
Hist. Manuscript Com. ~App. 9th Report p. Jdd. 

A. D. 1562. Sabbath is used for Sunday in the second book of 
Homilies of the Church of England. 

A. D. 15^-t. "Thomas Ashenden fined for frequenting an nnlaw- 
full assembly in Dover Lane; John Johncock for -eiiing of shoes on 
the Sabbath day." Id. App. 9th Report, p. 165. 



1066 How thk Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



A. D. 1570. "Dictionary of English and Latin words by Peter 
Leviu3. English, ye Sabbote; Latin. Sabbatum." 

Re-edited by Wheaton for the Camden Society. 

A. D. 1570. "It appears from a sermon made at Blanford Forum 
by William Kethe, that it was the custom at that time for the 
Church-ales to be kept on the Sabbath day, which holy day, says 
our author, The multitude call their revylyng day, which day is 
spent in bull-baiting, bear-baiting, bowling, dancing, cardyng, 
daunsynges, drunkeness and whoredoms, in-so-much as men could 
not keepe their servaunts from lying out of thy owne houses the 
same Sabbath day at night.' " Brand's Pop. Ant. Vol 1. p. 278. 

A. D. 1577. "To spend thy Sabbath holilie, and helpe the needle 
pour tie [poor in misery]. The Ladder of Thrift, p. 17. 

Miscellaneous English Dialect Society. 

A.D.I 577. "In Northbrook's Treaties, wherein Dicing, Daun- 
cing, Vaine playes or Enterludes with other idl pastimes, etc., com- 
monally used on Sabbath days are reproved." 

Brand's Popular Ant\a., Vol. 1, p. 236. 

A. D. 1578. "An entry in the old Minute Book of Mortlake 
church. 'The two Hales fined shilling by Dockter Reeves for their 
profanation of the Saboth in play in ge at nine pins." 

Quiver, 1889, p. 786. {London) 

1588. "On the defeat of the Spanish Armada a proclamation for 
general thanksgiving, signed by Henry, Earl of Derby, was issued, 
and required it 'to be put in execution att or before the next Sab 
bothe.' " Baine's Hist. Lane. Vol. 1, p, 559. 

A. D. 1598-9. "Sir Edward Coke, attorney-general to Sir Robert 
Cecil, Feb. 18th. 'If I were not persuaded Qond bonum est benefa- 
cere in Sabbate, I should think that I have broken the whole Sab- 
bath yesterday, in speeding of this business, and now do mean in 
satisfaction of Nature's due, to shove on my bed. ' " 

Hist. Manuscript Commission. Salisbury pt. ix,p. 74. 

A. D. 1590. "Ail brethren and svsters of the hospitall 

shall on all Saboth days, Feastival days, Wednesdays and Fridays at 
morninge and eveninge prayers," &c 

Steinman's Hist. Croydon, p. 316. 

A. D. 1591. Archbishop Whitgrift. k This mischief might well 

(in myne opinion) be redressed by catechiseinge and 

instructing in the churches of youthes of both sexes, in the Sabbath 
daies and holy daies in afternoones." 

CardivelVs Documentary Annals, ii 23. 

A. D. 1592. "Item. Isabelle Pickering who hath her relief forth 
of the benevolence; doth not repair to church as well as on the Sab- 
bath days as otherwise — to be punished and to have no relief." 

Hist. Man. Commission, Aim. to Hi Report, p. 301. 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 1069 

A. D, 1592. "Called before the authorities for hunting on the 
S ibbath before morning prayers." 

Parish Book of Crundall in Kent, Lord Somer's Tracts, p. 108. 

A. D. 1596. "By our holy Sabbath have I sworn." 

Shakes, lierch. of Janice, iv. 1 36. 

A. D. 1600. "Dec. 2, 42. Elizabeth. Order (made with the con- 
sent of Richard Lane and Thomas Lane now waggoners of the said 
town) that no waggoner or common carrier of Ipswich shall work 
on the Sabbath day: the order being made 'forasmuch as the wag- 
goners and common carriers of this Town have and doe useally be- 
gune to travell towards London everie weeke on the tuesdaie with 
their waggons and carriages and doe come out of London on the 
Fry .: aye att afternoon and by most parte of the Sabothe daie to the 
greate offence of almightie God contrarie to the laws of the realme 
and to the infamie and slander of this towne.' " 

Hist. 11. Commission, Appendix to 9th Report , p. 256. 

A. D. 1603. "James I, just after his accession to the Crown, is- 
sued a Proclamation in May, prohibiting bear-baiting, bull-baiting, 
interludes, common-plays, or the like disorderly or unlawful exer- 
cises or pastimes to be frequented, kept, or used any time hereafter 
upon any Sabbath day." Baylee's Hist, of the Sabbath, p. 156. 

[Some time between the above date and A. D. 1618 (his book of 
Sports), the king had changed his views with respect to Sabbath ob- 
servance, a circumstance wlr.ch we may safely infer was due to a 
false translation of the Tewkesbury Jew story.] 

A. D. 1608. "Petition of Henry Dinglr of Henly Castle gentle- 
men to the Justices of the Peace praying them to call on the church 
wardens and constables of Henly Castle to prevent the great abuses 
done there on the Sabbath days, and especially the great riot and 
unlawful assembly on Sunday last, being Whit Sunday." 

Hist. M. Commsssion, Vol. I. p.28S, Portland. Vol. 7. 

A. D. 1612. "The Mayor being persuaded that the Sabbath 
should be truly kept he caused the reapers to be removed, that came 
every Sunday in the harvest time, to be hired for the week follow- 
ing." Ormerod: Hist. Chest. Vol. I, p. 202, 

A D. 1617. "We find that the inhabitants and youths of Long- 
don were wont on Summer Sundays -to sport themselves with may- 
ffames. morrices, and dancing.' by reason of which 'many rude ruf- 
fians aud drunken companions had come together from other Towns 
and caused a great riot; and because on one Sunday at the hour of 
evening, the players were comp lied to cease their play, fhe youth 
of Longdon' forced an excommunicated woman into church, and 
then informed the minister of her presence, 'hoping thereby to puf 
an end to God's service, that so they might again return to their 



1070 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

sports.' The Justices ordered the prosecution of all who thus pro- 
faned the Sabbath." Hist. M. Commission, Vol. I, pp. 283, 295. 

Portland, Vol. 8. 

A. D, 1619. "The Towne of Tiverton is mentioned as a fearfull 
example of God's judgements for the prophanation of the Sabbath 
(being twice burnt in a book entitled, 'The Practice of Pietie,' by 
L. Bayly, Bishop of Bangor. In 1735 it reached its 59th edition)." 

Thorn's Anecdotes and Traditions, p. 60. 

Camden Society. 

Charles I. "To show the inconsistency of calling Sunday the 
Sabbath while the British Parliament always designated Saturday 
by the Latin dies Sabbati, the Sabbath day. when a Bill was before 
the House entitled, 'A Bill for the Better Observance of the Sab- 
bath Commonly Called Sunday,' a certain member arose and moved 
to amend the title by making it read, 'A Bill for the Better Obser- 
vance of Saturday Commonly Called Sunday.' As the House con- 
sidered the pun a very serious one the pundit was expelled." 

The Outlook for April, 1890, p. 85. Alfred Centre, N. Y. 

'•Hume has noticed the attempt to pass this Act to change the 
name, and Hampson tells us 'that it was rejected by the House of 
Lords.' " Hampson's Medii 2Evii Kal.. Vol. 2, p. 345. 

[The action of the House of Lords in refusing this when all the 
Scottish laws used the wonls Sabbath and Sunday interchangeably 
can only be explained by their Lordships' belief in the Tewkesbury 
Jew story, which made the Saturday to be the Sabbath; but in doing 
this they overthrew all the traditional beliefs of the centuries, and 
which led Berlin to make the mistake he did about the Saturday 
being the Sabbath. If Heylin, or any member of the House of 
Lords, had only read Matthew of Westminster, A. D. 1397, under 
the year A. D. 1217 he would have found an entry that would have 
convinced him that "Saturday, the 20th of May, was the vigil of the 
Sabbath of the Holy Trinity ." And under the year A. D. 1214 
"Philip, King of France, did not bear arms on Sunday" for the ob- 
vious reason that Sunday was the Sabbath and not Saturday; and 
the agreement made between Emperor Frederick and the Soldon 
was on Monday, the 18th of February, A. D. 1230, "the day Christ 
rose from the dead." 

Matthew of Westminster's Chronicles, Vol. II, pp. 119. 13 J. 159. 

Bohn's Ed, 

'•The English of all sects, but particularly the Presbyterians, make 
profession of being very strict observers of the Sabbath day. I be- 
lieve their doctrine on this head does "not differ from ours [the 
French], but most assuredly our scruples are much less than theirs. 
This appears on a hundred occasions; but I have observed it partic- 
ularly in the printed Confessions of persons that are hanged: it is 
usual to print them in England: Sabbath breaking is the crime the 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1071 

poor wretches begin with. If they had killed father and mother, 
they would not mention t^nt article till after having confessed how 
often they had broke the Sabbath " — M. Messon's Memoirs and Ob- 
servations in his travels over England, Scotland and Ireland. * Trans- 
lated from the French by Mr. Ozell, p. 310. London, 1719, 

[Let us remember that Saturday was the day named the Sabbati 
in our Law Court proceedings. However, there is not one case 
cited where "Sabbath breaking" is ever applied to the Saturday-Sab- 
bath, but in every case to the Sunday-Sabbath. We take the fol- 
lowing from the Liber Albus, the White Book of the City of Lon- 
don, compiled A. D, 1419, translated from the Anglo-Norman and 
Latin by H. T. Riley, 1861. The planetary names are used like the 
Doomsday Book of William I, and where Saturday is named Sab- 
bati and Sunday die Dominica. In describing the Lord Mayor's 
procession the writer says:] 

"Oa the third day, on Wednesday, that is to say, in the week of 
Pentecost, the Mayor, Aldermen and other persons were wont to 
meet at the hour aforesaid at the church of St. Thomas de Aeon 
(Terio vero die scilicet die murcurii in septimana Pentecostes)." 
Latin Text Liber Albus, p.30. Riley Translation, p. 177, Rolls Series. 

[At a circuit Court held in the Tower, we have a writ enjoining 
an enquiry as to the legality of the Fishmonger's Hallmote (14 El- 
ward II). The arguments of the defendants.] 

"Such courts were held daily in reference to foreign fishmongers 
and every eighth-day as to those free of the city (de octavo die in 
in octavum d.em)." Liber Custumarum, Vol. II, Pt. l,p. 402. 

Rolls Series. 

[The eighth-day was Monday, and this kept alive the order of the 
week. We find that Bread was to be sold on Wednesdays and Sat- 
urdays (diem mercurii et diem Sabbati)] Id. p. 104. 

[The Curfew of William I, therefore, did not change the order of 
the week. In law, Monday is the eighth and Sunday the seventh 
day of the week.] 

Judge Blackstone says, in A. D. 1765; 

'Profanation of the Lord's day, vulgarly called 'Sabbath-break- 
ing, 1 is a ninth offence against God and. religion, punishable by the 
municipal law of England." 

Blackstone' s Commentaries, Vol. 4,ch. 4, p. 63. London, 1765. 

A. D. 1721 . The Universal Etymological Dictionary of Nathaniel 
Bailey, who was a member of the Mill-yard Baptist Church: 

'The word Sabbath is described as 'the seventh day of the week, 
observed as a day of Rest, in commemoration of God's resting after 
the Sixth Day of Creation; or the first day of the week among 
Christians,' and the word Sabbatarian as 'a name given to some An- 
abaptists, or rather Baptists, who observe Saturday as a Sabbath.' " 
W. E. A. Axon, F. R. S. L. English Dialect Society. London. 



1072 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 

[Bayley admits that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week 
observed as a day of rest, but called the first day of the week among 
Christians. However, this is the first change we find in our Dic- 
tionaries ] 

"Sabbaturn the Sabbath or day of rest; the seventh day from 
Creation." Tomlin's Law Die. London, 1835. 

''In some of the New England states it begins at sunsettiug on 
Saturday and ends at the same time on the next day. But in oiher 
parts of the United States it begins at 12 o'clock in the night be- 
tween Saturday and Sunday and ends in twenty-four hours after- 
wards The Sabbath, Lord's day and Sunday all mean 

the same thing." 

Bonvier's Law Die., The Revised and Enlarged Edition. 

Philadelphia, U. S. A., 1877. 

[A great mistake was made when our Calander Tables were in- 
serted in our Prayer Book, i. e., "General Tables for finding the 
Dominical or Sunday letter. Table I, Table II, Table III." 

The vigil of Easter was originally a Sunday night service and 
governed by the moon. When however, our compilers made it &day 
festival and celebrated it on Sunday morning they unwittingly 
changed the Easter from the first day to the seventh day, and this has 
mi&led us when we have made use of the Sunday letters and therefore 
they are absolutely useless. Previous to this change we never find the 
Sunday identified with the dominical, e. g, "Historia Monasterii 
S. Augustini Cantuariensis (edited by C. Hard wick, pp. 2 to 72, Rolls 
Series). In this volume there is a chronological table. It com- 
mences with A. D. 597, the year that St. Augustine came to Eng- 
land, and ends with A. D. 1418. It gives the Iudictio, Primatio [Cy- 
cles Lunae Julianus Litera [Dominicalis], Anni Adventus Augustini]. 

Now, there is no break whatever in this chronological Table. 
Neither is there a contradiction of terms as we have in the Pra} er 
Book, i. e., "Dominical or Sunday letter." Formerly the Dominica 
was governed and made to commence with the eve precisely the 
same as the Lunae Cycle, and I would suggest to the Editors of the 
Rolls Series to note this and put their pen through Sunday and be- 
gin Sunday at sunset with the eve of Monday, and in this way they 
will put themselves in harmony with all the ancient chronology of 
our country; and when the Book of Common Prayer is revised, Sun- 
day a6 the dominical letter will have to go. 

Another mi-take was made when Friday became a fast day. Sat- 
urday was the fast day even down to the time of James I (see p. 
1039), and it is still the fast day in countries where the Tewkesbury 
Jew story had gained no footing. We quote the following from 
The Sabbath Memorial:] 

From Naples. "Sunday iaw does not exist here, nor is Sunday 
treated as a day of rest, but as a feast, to the great horror 
of Methodists and Protestants of all denominations. Saturday 



How the Jews Changed their Sabbath. 1073 



(Sabato in Italian) is a, fast day, but there is no half holiday as in 
England. Thursday is a holiday at all schools and a half feast. It 
is strange that this Italian word (Sabato) was the first that raised a 
difficulty in my mind, before receiving some of your tracts. . I was 
speaking to some brethren on. the profanation of the 'Sabbath' (Sun- 
day) in this country, and referred t- em to the Fourth Command- 
ment, saying: — 'Ricordati delgiorno Sabato per santificarlo' when it 
struck me at once that I had not said what I intended, I had told 
them to sanctify Saturday and not Sunday. There it was in plain 
Italian, and there was no getting out of it. I stopped short; fortu- 
nately no one took me up on what I had said, for I would not hare 
known how to reply. Shortly after a number of the Sabbath Mem- 
morial [No. 3] was sent to me. and I saw the whole thing at once. 
Armed with these weapons [Sabbath publications] I shall, asking 
God's direction, do my best to call the attention of Christians here 
to the true nature of the Fourth Commandment, and to the fact 
of its universal perversion, perhaps the -only corruption of the Pa- 
pacy that the Baptists have overlooked." 

Sabbath Memorial, p. 32. 

[Let us examine this. In the first four centuries in Rome the 
Metropolitan Bishops were eight-day men and all these observed 
only two fast days, i. e., fourth and sixth days of the week. These 
ended at Sunset; therefore, they followed the Jewish custom of 
com 1 . u:ation. In A. D. 404 Innocentius became Pope, being an 
Assyrio-Catho-ic he was the first Assyrio Roman-Catholic Pope and 
changed the Jewish computation into the Assyrian, and so extended 
the sixth- day fast from the eve to midnight, and at the same time 
made the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, a rigorous fast day, 
breaking the fast by celebrating the mass of the resurrection on the 
vigil of the first day of the week, while the Eastern church cele- 
brated it on the Sabbath. Augustine, (born A. D. 354. died A. D. 
430, in a letter (Epis. 36, chapters 3, 12 and 13) to Casulanus, says;] 

Chapter 8. ''The Christians also, whose custom is to fast on the 
fourth, sixth and seventh days, as the Roman community does to a 
large extent/' 

Chap. 12. "As to the seventh day of the week, there is a les^ 
difficulty in acting on the rule above quoted, because both the Ro- 
man Church and some other churches, though few. near to it or re- 
mote from it observe a fast on that day, but to fast on the Lord's 
day is a great offense." 

Chap. 13. 'The reason why the Church prefers to appoint the 
fourth and sixth days of the week for fasting is found by considering 

the Gospel narrative The fourth day the Jews took counsel 

to put the Lord to death. ... He was betrayed on the night 
which belongs to the sixth day of the week (as is everywhere known) 
of his passion. . . . He suffered on the sixth day of the week. 

. . , The next day is the Jewish Sabbath on which day Christ's 



1074 How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 



body rested in the grave, as in the original fashioning of the world 
God rested on thai day from all his works. Hence originated the 
variety in the robe of his bride which we are now considering some, 
especially the Eastern communities, preferring to take food on 
that day, that the action might be emblematical of the divine 
rest; others, namely, of the Church of Rome, and 6ome Churches of 
the West, preferring to fast on that day because of the humiliation 
of the Lord in death. OnGe in the year, namely, at Easter, all 
Christians observe the seventh day of the week by fasting, in mem- 
ory of the mourning with which the disciples as men bereaved, la- 
mented the death of the Lord ^and this is done by those who take 
food on the seventh day throughout the rest of the year): thus pro- 
viding a symbolical representation of both events— of the disciples' 
sorrow on one seventh day in the year, and of the blessing of repose 
on all the others. . . . Hence it came to be thought that both 
of these things (death and resurrection) should be symbolized not 
by the hardships of fasting, but rather by the cheerfulness of re- 
freshment with food, excepting only the Easter Saturday on which 
I have said it has been resolved to commemorate by a more pro- 
tracted fast, the mourning of the disciples as one of the events to 
be had in remembrance." 

Augustine's Letters, Vol. i, pp. 114-1X5. Clark's Ed. 

[Now, this sixth feria is desigDated by Innocentius by the plane- 
tary name, Saturn day, A. D. 403-4, the time when the week com- 
menced with Monday and ended with Sunday, which proves that the 
Sunday law of Constantine was in favor of the seventh day of the 
week. A. D. 425 the astrological arrangemenc was made legal, and 
this changed the order and made Sunday the first day, and conse- 
quently Saturday became the seventh day. However, in the Ro- 
man Catholic Church, the ferias held their own (see Calander of 
Gregory the Great, p. 528). This is also shown in Leo's Ep„ written 
A. D. 450, 25 years after the astrological arrangement was made.] 

"On it (says Leo) the world had its origin. On it [eve of Monday 
the first day] through the resurrection of Christ and the annihila- 
tion of death and life received its genesis" (see p. 1030). Frank- 
forth at the end of the eighth century was the first to discontinue 
the vigil. Canon 21. "The Lord's diy should be kept from even- 
ing to evening." 

[This vigil continued and survived the third council of Trullo at Con- 
stantinople, A. D. 692. One hundred and eighty bishops assembled 
and made one hundred and two Canons, and they unanimously con- 
demned the Roman custom of fasting on the Sabbath in the 55th 
Canon, and from that time the fast was observed in Rome until it 
was abolished, "when the people begun the celebration of Sundays 
and feasts on the morning of the same day" (see p. 1009). This 
arrangement put an end to the Sabbath fast of the Roman Catholic 
Church and changed the day into a feast day, and also changed the 



How the Jews Changed Their Sabbath. 1075 



pianetary name, Saturn, into Sahbati (see p. 1010), but it never 
changed the fast, and to-day the fast in commemoration of the death 
of Christ is kept on Saturday, the sixth feria, while the yearly fast 
of the Lord's passion is kept on Good Friday, but the sixth feria ex- 
tends to midnight, there being "no half-holiday as in England." The 
same is also true of Thursday, the fourth feria, excepting that the 
fast was not Assyrianized to extend to midnight. '"Thursday is a 
holiday at all the schools and a half feast." 

In England we have changed the fast from the sixth feria to the 
fifth feria and celebrate Friday as our fast day, thus following the 
custom of our Easter festival, i. e., Good Friday, and this is also 
true wherever the English language is spoken. In the southern 
parts of Germany Saturday is the fast day, as in Italy. The Satur- 
day, as a fast day, entirely disappeared in England during the Pur- 
itan supremacy, and at the restoration under Charles II the Friday 
fast became popular, especially among the members of the Church 
of England and the Roman Catholics, they being under the impres- 
sion that Friday was the fast day or sixth ftria of the early Chris- 
tians. When the vigil of the resurrection was celebrated on Sunday 
morning tradition alone kept alive the Sabbatic character of the day.] 

"A Nantes newspaper he Breton (July 30th, 1835), relates that 
three men were buried alive 430 ft. deep in a shaft of a coal mine at 
Montelaie by the bursting of its sides. Their fellow workmen with 
difficulty saved one man, 'but Sunday morning interrupted their 
work till Monday morning,' and of course the others perished." 

Hampson's Medii JEvi Kal. Vol. II, p. 367. 

[The following will explain how this traditional belief is being 
swept away:] 

'-The following extract from the speech of that eminent Senator, 
M. Barthelmey Saint-Hilaire, delivered recently in the French Sen- 
ate, taken from Les Signes des Temps, published at Bale, 1880: 
'From what motive has the Sabbath, which is Saturday, become in 
the Christian Church, the Sunday? I have sought in vain the reasons 
for this act in the best authorities, such as the decrees of the Coun- 
cil of Trent, of Montpellier, and of Meaux, edited by the great Bos- 
suet; I have not found them. It is, in effect, very embarrassing to 
explain a thing of this nature, which is the result of a kind of tra- 
dition. Probably, in order to distinguish themselves from the Jews, 
who make the Saturday the day of rest or Sabbath, the Christians 
have fixed upon another day, the Sunday. Much as you may be- 
lieve that you are obeying a divine commandment laid down in the 
sacred book, and which is, more or less, profoundly respected by all 
intelligent and philosophical men, still I say that it is not the com- 
mandment of God that you observe or pretend to observe,' " 

Sabbath Memorial, p. 196. 

THE END 



628 SUNDAY BOTH FIRST AND SEVENTH DAY. 

the Sabbath night, or our Saturday night, the French Samedi. 
Now if Good Friday had been the day of the passion (which is now 
the universal belief) and Friday night, from six o'clock, commenced 
the Sabbath (as the modern Jews now keep it) then St. Ambroie 
would have stated that the twelfth night was the Sabbath, the time 
of fasting and bitterness, and not the thirteenth. Easter, we must 
remember, was a lunar festival, and the sun had nothing to do with 
it whatever, so it was celebrated at midnight. 

We repeat that in St. Ambrose' time the Catholic Church all over 
the world celebrated the feast of the Resurrection on Sunday night, 
and in A. D. 1363, the feast of the resurrection in the monasteries 
and nunneries had been put back just twenty-four hours. The bene- 
diction of the taper in the charter quoted on p. 525, prove this, and 
the present custom of many countries who commence the year at 
Easter, counting the first hour after miduight on Saturday night, 
making one o'clock Sunday morning the first hour of both the week 
and the year. We now give the Calendar — 

Calendar of Gregory the Great.— Smith & Cheetham's -Die. 
Dominica Adventus Domini. 
******* 

Parasceve ■•_--- [Saturday 3 p. m. to 6 p. m.] 

Sabbatum Sanctum - - - - [Saturday 6 p. m. to Sunday 6 p. m.] 

Vigiliae S Paschag [Sunday 6 p. m. to 12 p. m.J 

Dominica S Paschge [Sunday 12 p. m. to daybreakl 

Dom, octava Paschaa (Sen post albas 

paschales) - - [Sunday 6 p. m. to daybreak] 

Dom. i. post Pascha do. do. do. 

Dom. ii. " '■ do. do. do. 

Dom. iii. 4 * " do. do. do. 

The following was the Easter hymn, sung at night. Gregory I, 
A. D. 604, composed about one dozen hymns, several of which has 
found a place in the Roman Breviary. It is now sung ordinarily on 
Sunday — 

•* On the first day, when heaven on earth 
Began, the earth and skies ; 
To-day a conqueror, God the Son, 

Did from the grave arise. 
We, too, will wake and, in despite 

Of sloth and anger, all unite, 
As Psalmist bids, through the dim night 
Waiting with wistful eyes." 



BUN, OR ANCESTRAL WORSHIP. 



448 




The Assyrian Tree of Life, 

[Or the symbolic-it representation of the ancient religious cult of 
Church and Scate in Assyria. In the Septuagint Version of Gen. 
iii 20, Eve is called Life. The branches represent the thirteen Lu- 
nar months of the year. The first moon or the fruit of the first 
moon represents the Queen and the firstborn, and the other fruits 
represent the twelve concubines and their firstborns, a concubine 
for every moon. The winged figures represent the King and Queen 
and their flight into heaven to inhabit the sun and moon, and the 
fruit in the hands of the figures represents the firstborn male or fe- 
male and the weights represent their right to eat of the Tree of 
Life. The writer of the Book of Revelation has borrowed from the 
Assyrian symbolism when he describes Christ as "the bright and 
MorniDg Star," a right and title conferred on the firstborn. The 
center flower symbolizes the seven days in each moon when the tree 
is unfruitful, and therefore cannot be plucked. 

When Daniel said to the king, "0 King, Live forever," we can un- 
derstand that the king was to live forever in his offspring. 

David was about to establish his kingdom in exactly the same 
way as the Assyrian king set up his kingdom, but the overruling 
hand of Providence prevented him. We read in II Sam. xx 3, "And 
David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten 
women his concubines [a firstborn from each of the ten tribes of 
Israel] whom he had left to keep the house and put them in ward 
and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up 
unto the day of their death living in widowhood." Therefore Da- 
vid's kingdom was unlike the Assyrian, but was a limited monarchy, 
the princes of the tribes ruling with the king.] 



728 SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 



61. Neither dost thou fear the Lord, who cries aloud with such an 
utterance, even he who commands us to give food even to our enemies. 
Look forward to thy meals from that Tobias who always on every 
day shared them entirely with the poor man. Thou seekest to feed 
him, fool, who feedeth thee again. Dost thou wish that he should 
prepare for me, who is setting before him his burial ; the brother 
oppressed with want, nearly languishing away, cries out at the splen- 
didly fed, and with distented belly. What say est thou of the Lord's 
day. If he have not placed himself before, call forth a poor man from 
the crowd, whom thou mayest take to thy dinner. In the tablets is 
hope from a Christ refreshed. p. 465. 

This writer is what we should now call a Christian socialist. It 
wa6 customary for the eighth day believers to put by on the first 
day of the week for the poor brethren. They were expecting their 
Lord to suddenly appear in His holy temple, and when the temple 
was destroyed, the weekly collections were still made, and the Chris- 
tians in the time of Commodeanus, thinking that if they gave to the 
collection on this night (the Lord's day), they had done all that was 
required of them. Now the writer does not speak against this col- 
lection, or the Lord's Day, but insists that every day should be a 
Lord's Day in this respect. Tobias on every day shared with the 
poor his meals, you do the same. It is no Christian act to feed one 
who will repay you ; but take a poor man from the crowd, and give 
him a dinner, and in doing so you have given a dinner to Christ. 
That this is his meaning, there can be no doubt, for in sec. 75, he 
speaks of the Passover coming once a year, and designated it as a 
Christian festival, " Easter, that day of ours most blessed." He, like 
all his predecessors, knows nothing of the abolishment of the Sabbath 
and the substitution of the Lord's Day. 

Anatolius, A. D. 270, Bishop of Laodicea; Edin. Ed., Vol. 14. 

" Anatolius was a very scientific ecclesiastic of Alexandria, who, by 
his address, once delivered his own men from a siege. He was made 
Bishop of Laodicea, in Syria, about A. D. 270, and published a canon 
for ascertaining Easter, from which Eusebius (Ecc. Hist. b. 7, c. 32) 
has preserved an extract." Mosheim, p. 98. 

in this canon there is a constant reference to the Lord's Day 
(i. e., Easter), and it throws light upon the subject. We learn from 
this paschal canon that the Lord's Day (Easter), was the greatest 
festival of the church. 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 729 



7. The obligations of the Lord's resurrection, binds us to keep the 
paschal festival on the Lord's Day. 

10. The solemn festival of the resurrection of the Lord can be 
celebrated only on the Lord's day. That it should not be lawful to 
celebrate the Lord's mystery of the Passover at any other time but 
on the Lord's day, on which the resurrection of the Lord from death 
took place, and on which rose also the cause of everlasting joy. 

11. On the Lord's day was it that light was shown to us in the 
beginning ; and now also in the end the comforts of all present and 
the tokens of all future blessings. 

16. Our regard for the Lord's resurrection, which took place on the 
Lord's day, will lead us to celebrate it on the same principle. 

pp. 411-427. 

It will be seen by the reference to the first day of creation, when 
i4 light was shown to us," that the Creation feast of the Assyrio- 
Catholic church had by this time so blended with the Resurrection 
feast of the eighth day believers, as to be nearly lost sight of. The 
resurrection of Christ on that night, was the theme that over- 
shadowed everything else. 

The paschal table of Anatolius, which has been preserved, is val- 
uable as furnishing conclusive evidence that Sunday and the Sabbath 
were the same day, at the time he drew up this table. He tells us (11) 
some wise men thought it an impossibility to form a paschal table 
that would show that they could " keep the solemn festival of the 
Passover on the Lord's day, and after the equinox, and yet not 
beyond the limit of the moon's twentieth day." (12) "But in 
order," he continues, " that we may set in a clearer light, the diffi- 
culty which causes their incredulity, we shall set down, along with 
the courses of the moon, that cycle of [nineteen] years which we 
have mentioned, the days being computed before, in which the year 
rolls in its alternating courses, by kalends and ides and nones, and 
by the suns ascent and descent." 

(13.) The Moon's Age as Set Forth by the Julian Calendar. 

" January, on the Kalends, one day, the Moon's first (day) : on the 
Nones, the 5th day, the Moon's 5th ; on the Ides, the i 3th day, the 
Moon's 13th. On the day before the Kalends of February, the 31st 
day, the Moon's 1st ; on the Kalends of February, the 32nd day, the 
Moon's 2nd." 

And so our author goes through the year, giving the age of each 
moon, and the number of days in the year, at the kalends, nones, and 



730 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 



ides of each month, finishing the year thus, " On the day before th€ 
Kalends of January, the 365th day, the Moon's llth; on the Kalendi 
of January, the 366th day, the Moon's 12th." 

(14) The Paschal (or Easter) Table of Anatolius. 

" Now then after the reckoning of the days, and the exposition of 
the course of the Moon whereon the whole revolves on to its end, the 
cycle of the years may be set forth from the commencement (Anno* 
rum ciculi principium inchoadum est). This makes the Passover 
(Easter season) circulate between the 6th day before the Kalends of 
April, and the 9th before the Kalends of May, according to the fol- 
lowing table : 



Equinox 


Moon 


Basteb 


Moon 


1. Sabbath | xxvi | 15th before Kalends May, i.e., 17th April | xviii 


2.Lord's d y 


[ vii I Kalends of April, i. e., 1st of April xiv 


3. 2rdday 
(Ferial) 


xviii 


llth before Kalends May, i. e., 21st April 


xvi 


4. 3rd day 
(Ferial) 


xxix 


Ides of April, i. e., 13th of April 


xix 



p. 423. 

And so Anatolius continues his table for nineteen years ; however, 
this is sufficient for our purpose. It will be seen that he commences 
the Paschal table with the Sabbath, not the Lord's Day, By follow- 
ing the instructions given, we can find out what day of the week 
the Sabbath fell upon when this table was made. We have the day 
of the week, i. e„ Sabbath; the day of the month, 17th of April; and 
the year, that is, any year where the first day of January (of the 
Julian Calendar) is " the moon's first" (day). 

If we look at the table of Moveable Feasts, in our Prayer Book, we 
shall see that in the year 1892, the epact or age of the moon was 
one day, on the first of January; and that the 17th day of April 
is given as Easter day, the very day of the month given by Anatolius 
in his table, the only difference being that he calls the 1 5th before 
the kalends of May (i. e., 17th of April) the Sabbath, which we call 
Easter Sunday. Anatolius tells us that this day was a solemn «ne. 
as it was the great Sabbath, preceding the Lord's day ; with us, ws 
have changed it into the Lord's Day, the resurrection day, the great- 
est festival of the church, and thus celebrate the resurrection on 
the day that Christ lay hi the tomb. We submit that the Paschal 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 731 

table of Anatolius puts an end to all controversy by proving that 
Sunday and the Sabbath are the same identical day of the week, i. e., 
the seventh day. Commodus' views on the Paschal season, preserved 
by Eusebius, are quoted on pp. 615, 616. 

Archelaus, A D. 280, Bishop of Oascar, Mesopotamia. 

Edin. Ed., Vol. 90. 

This writer is the author of a treatise, in Syriac, against Manes 
the heretic, which was early translated into Greek and Latin. In his 
" Disputation with Manes," occurs the following — 

S. 3 1 . Moses, that illustrious servant of G-od, committed to those 
who wished to have the right vision, an emblematic law, and also a 
real law. Thus to take an example, after God had made the world, 
and all things that are in it, in the space of six days, he rested on the 
seventh day from all his works ; by which statement I do not mean to 
affirm that he rested because he was fatigued, but that he did so as 
having brought to its perfection every creature which he had resolved 
to introduce. And yet in the sequel it (the new law) says, 4 My Father 
worketh hitherto, and I work.' Does that mean, then, that he is still 
making heavens, or sun, or man, or animals, or trees or any such 
things; nay, but the meaning is, that when these visible objects were 
perfectly finished, he rested from that kind of work ; while however 
he still continues to work at objects invisible, with an inward mode 
of action, and saves men. In like manner, then, the Legislator desires 
also that every individual among us should be devoted unceasingly 
to this kind of work [saving men], even as God himself is, and he 
enjoins us consequently to rest continuously from secular things 
[worldly pleasures], and to engage in no worldly sort of work what- 
soever ; and this is called our Sabbath. This he also added in the law 
that nothing senseless should be done, but that we should be careful 
and direct our life in accordance with what is just and righteous. 

p. 336. 

S. 42. Again as to the assertion that the Sabbath has been abolished, 
we deny that he has abolished it plainly (plane), for he was himself 
Lord of the Sabbath. And this (the laws relation to the Sabbath) 
was like the servant who has charge of the bridegroom's couch, and 
who prepares the same with all carefulness and does not suffer it to 
be disturbed or touched by any stranger, but keeps intact against 
the time of the bridegroom's arrival ; so that when he is come the 
bed may be used as he pleases, or as it is granted to those to use it 
whom he has bidden enter along with him. p. 373. 

There is nothing whatever to show in the above extracts that the 



402 



SUN, OR ANCESTRAL WORSHIP. 




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together with the powers which he there assigns to each letter; — 

* k d * r r f k i 4 h t I r f a t x * 

PUpOEKHNIA»TBii &f <E D G E 

The central rows of large Runic char- 
acters on each side are, as already men- 
tioned, devoted to denominical letters ; 
and the row of figures in Runes above 
them represents the lunar cycle. The 
letters are the same as those on the 
Bologna Calendar, and are Northern 
^ Runes. Although the symbols indicat- 
ing the principal feasts of the year are 
chiefly limited to crosses, this example 
must be regarded as a fine Primstaff. 

Mr. Mayer's Primstaff is extremely 
like that last described. The arrange- 
ment of the two flat sides, with the 
denominical letters in the central row, 
the lunar cycle below, and the mark 
days above, is the same in both calen- 
dars. The series of Runes for the nine- 
teen G-olden Numbers and those relating 
to the solar cycle are placed on the 
edges instead of on the handle of the 
staff. (Plate XXI gives them in juxta- 
position.) The Runes read from right 
to left both in this and in the Copen- 
: 37~ T hagen example, stnd corresponds in figure 
very nearly to the Wend-Runes (retro- 
grade Runes), given by Professor Steph- 
ens (Part I. p. 99) ; the first seven letters 
of which series, with their powers, are 
here copied from his work : 

x > n i n i 

"G C R M |> V F 

Each of the sides is appropriated to 
six months of the year, divided thus: 
January 1 to July 1, inclusive; July 2 
to December 31, inclusive. The inser- 
tion of the first day of July at the end 
of the first half-year would seem to be 
with the view of recommencing the 
series of Sunday letters on the second 
side of the staff with the ^ , the first let- 
ter of the Futhorc which beg-ins the vear on the first side. 



^ 



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L^ 



v-v- 



zr 




932 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 



upon which Christ died, the obvious reason being that Christ did not 
die on a tree, and equally true is it that He did not die on a stake, i. 
e. He was not " staked " (stauroo). Esdras throws a little light 
upon the manner of hanging, for in giving an account of the Jewish 
return under Zarubabel says: "And he commanded that whoso- 
ever should transgress, yea, make light of anything afore spoken of 
or written, out of his own house should a tree be taken and he there- 




S3 




Sedilis excessu. 



on be hanged, and all his goods seized by the King I Esdras, vi. 32 
i. e. that a thick branch be lopped off from the tribal tree in order 
to degrade the culprit as much as possible. This was evidently done 
by the Jews in the case of our Saviour, and Christ was degraded by 
hanging Him on a branch of His own tribal tree, i. e. probably the 
" Royal Oak," hence, the writers of the New Testament have selected 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 



933 



xtilon to express the fact, and Dot dendron. The Jews left no stone 
unturned to bring Christ under the curse of Deu. xxi. 23. Irenaeus 
(A. D. 170, Adv. Haer ii. 42) tells us that the body rested on a. sort of 
seat. We have given as near as we can, on page 932, a true repre- 
sentation of the crucifix. 

Justin Martyr's evidence is clear and decisive, i. e. that the devil 
had not invented the cross at that time (A. D. 147) as an instrument 
of punishment. 

The accompanying 
out is supposed to 
be the oldest repre- 
sentation of the 
crucifix now extant 
and by some Chris- 
tian archeologist it 
is taken as evidence 
as to the true shape 
of the cross . Pardre 
Oarrucci, S. J. dis- 
covered it in 1856 
in extensive excava- 
tions in the ruins 
of a very ancient 
building on the 
Palatine Hill. On 
the walls of this 
building were found 
a number of graffiti 
and amongst them 
the accompanying 
rude drawing. 

Padre Uarrucci wrote an anticle in Givilta Catholica of 1857, and 
argued that it was a mock representation of our Lord. The room in 
which it was found appears to have been a school-room, and near the 
mock crucifix is another graffito of a mill being turned by an ass, 
with the inscription Labora aselle quomodo ego laboravi et proderit 
tibi. "Work little donkey as hard as I have worked and it will be 
for your good." These representations I hold, bear no allusion what- 
ever to Christ or Christianity, they are rude representations of the 
forms of punishment the youths were subject to on misbehavour. 




SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 



949 




:' 



pttf "^' 



ring to the arrangement on this page as 
given by Pinnock (History of England.) 
The authority quoted or misquoted, 
for this is Adam of Bremen, a native of 
Saxony. He went to Bremen A. D. 1067 
and died there A. D, 1076. His eccle- 
siastical history is the chief source Of 
information of northern Europe from 
A. D. 788 to 1072, the period over which 
it extends (he was an eye witness, and 
his testimony as far as it goes is beyond 
all question.) The press-mark in the Brit- 
ish Museum Library is "590. g. 8. (3) 
Batavorum 1595" he says: 

"That people has the most noble 
temple which is called Ubsola, placed 
not far from Lectona Cantanti on 
Berka, in this temple which is quite 
covered with gold, the people vener- 
ate three statutes of the gods, so 
that the most powerful of these, Thor, 
has his couch in the middle of the 
sud, hence and from thence Woden 
and Fricco possess places of which the 
meanings are thus : (Thor habet tricUn- 
um in midio solem hinc et unde Woden 
et Fricco possedent locum quorum sig- 
niftcationis sunt cujus modi.) Thor, 
they say presides over heaven, who gov- 
erns lightning, thunder, shades, fine 
weather and fruits. The other one, Wo- 
den he is the stronger, rules wars and 
administers valour of men against the 
enemy. The third one is Frigga, dis- 
tributing peace and pleasure. (Terties 
est Fricco largens pacem que voluptateni) 
to mortals, of whom even they paint a 
likeness to the huge Priapus, indeed they 
sculpture Woden armed as our peo- 
ple used to depict Mars. But Thor with 
a sceptre is seen to express Jove." 

Adam Ecc. Hist. Chap. 233, p. 143. 

Speed (Historie of Great Britain, Vol. 
I, B. 3. C. 7. S. 8.) is the only writer I 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY 



9 1 




and they thought nothing could be 

1 to his greatness, and he 
appointed to him one day in every 
week, and the first month in the year 
which we call January. But Oden Lb 
set forth like tc Mare by the 

same superstitions the gentiles used 
amongst the Romans. And he had a 
day perpetually consecrated to his 
name, because whilst he lived he ob- 
: ained the title of God of all Bui 
for that he yielded te none in mill- 
tary art." 

His. of the Goths. 16-55. B. 5.. C. 3, 

Paul Henry Mallet's testimony is 
also misleading. He says: 

•The great temple at Upeal seemed 

to be particularly com e : rated to three 
superior deir.es and each of them 
was char? i by some particulai 

symbol. C a represente d h c 1 1 i u g 

a sword in hie I bos steed at the 

left hand of den with a ere 

; :-rr tre in one hand 
and a mallet in the other. Some- 
-: they rainted him on a chariot 
: he-goats of weed with 
his head ; ni 
by stars. Frea stc : 1 at the left 
of Thor represented of 

sexr- a- a herme-phrodite wit: i divers 
Dthei tti . - - hich char: 
produ -twines-." - 

Northern Aiitiq., Bohn ed. % 

And yet Mallet tells us on p. 118. 
"they wrote from right to left." Xot 
if we place the >. x m t:::t: : : 
ing to this arrangement it is impos- 
sible to place Fr-a at Thor's left 
hand Frea must rave been at Th;: a 
.: hand and We den at the left 
hand of Tfcor, just in the inverse 
order, and this exactly correspond! 



954 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY. 



».I-9AV>0 £? CI 
.0 ? 8 A & 5 ,50 * < 







H 



(0 (/) (*) (0 (™) (n) (o) (p) (g) 

(a) Represents the Ephraimic sign i. e. the X, enclosed within a 
square, thus forming a monogram containing all the numerals and 
from which our numerals have been derived as will be seen by read- 
ing from right to left. 

(b) The numerals as we now read them from left to right. 

(c) The Arabic numerals, read from right to left. It will be seen 
that there are only two characters, viz: 1 and 9 that bear any re- 
semblance to our corresponding numbers 1 and 9. The Arabic 4 is 
like our 3 and the 5 like our 0. The other Arabic characters, how- 
ever, cannot be identified with any of our numerals. 

(d) Our numerals when first introduced, (they read from right 
to left) from a MS. "De Algorismo" in verse, Brit. Mus. 8c. iv, 16, 
ascribed says Fosbroke (Enc. of Antiq.) to Grosseteste, Bishop of 
Lincoln. 

(e) Hieroglyphic representation of Thothmes III from the Ro- 
eetta stone. We have in this the origin of the symbol or square 
that encloses the Ephraimic X. The Egyptian hieroglyphics which 
are enclosed in an oblong frame, ring or square denote Royalty, the 



SUNDAY THE SEVENTH DAY 



987 



"And the word was with God, and the word was God. All things 
were made by him and without him was not anything made that 
was made. The world was made by him." John I, 1-10. Since 
the Creator— Christ worked on the six days of creation he must 




needs rest on the seventh day and we, if we follow him by doing 
whatever we have to do on the six days, then the Creator — Christ 
will bless our seventh day of rest and sanctify it as he blessed and 
sanctified the seventh day rest at creation. This was the teachir g 



462 



SATURDAY NOT THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH. 




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